


State of Grace

by Slytherin_vikiss



Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Based on a Taylor Swift Song, Emmett is a dork, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Latino Character, Mating Bond, Mentions of Taylor Swift, Parent Death, Polyamory, Romance, Sparkles, True Mates, Vampires, and harry potter, and jokes at Edwards expense, probably a lot of Mean Girl references
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:08:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26744911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slytherin_vikiss/pseuds/Slytherin_vikiss
Summary: After the death of her mother, Belén’s dad decides it's time to move back to his hometown, a rainy place in the middle of nowhere called Forks. Dragged across the continent to “start anew”, Belen’s counting the days until she can go back to her real home, Then she meets the Cullens, and suddenly she doesn’t know what to want anymore.Rosalie/Oc/Emmett. Polyfic. Pre-Twilight.I don’t own Twilight, only Belén, her attitude and a few other characters we’ll get to meet as the story progresses.
Relationships: Alice Cullen/Jasper Hale, Carlisle Cullen/Esme Cullen, Edward Cullen/Bella Swan, Emmett Cullen/Original Female Character(s), Emmett Cullen/Rosalie Hale/Original Female Character(s), Rosalie Hale/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 47
Kudos: 144





	1. Well, this story starts kinda depressing

Chapter 1: Well, this story sarts kinda depressing

  
  


Belén looked up from her phone in time to see the _“Welcome to Forks”_ sign blur past her before she could distinguish the number of inhabitants. It didn’t really matter, surely it was a depressing piece of data, and she already had enough of that those days.

“Where’s the nearest mall?” She asked her dad in spanish, her first language and his second. She probably should’ve switched to english some time ago, maybe when they arrived in Washington and some Karen gave her a weird look at the airport, but she didn’t feel like it. It was the last thing she had from home, and she would hold on to it with tooth and nail.

Her dad sighed and didn’t look at her, his clear eyes glued to the road ahead. At first, after _it_ had happened, Belén thought he maybe didn’t want to talk to her anymore, but she soon figured out he was just gathering the will to answer. She had come to accept that it wasn’t personal, so she made the effort of waiting patiently for him to speak.

Finally, after a sigh that had her left eye twitching, he managed to find his voice.

“There’s one in Port Angeles, I think. I don’t really remember.” he said, sounding like a man deprived of rest.

“One. Great.” was her clipped response.

“There’s more in Seattle, but it’s a longer drive.” he added, almost making an effort.

Belén began to smile, but then caught herself. How pathetic was it to be happy for so little? She forced the corners of her mouth down and turned to look out the window.

The center of town seemed to consist of the 101, and from the looks of it, it seemed like most stores were there. That’d make it all easier to find, she thought, and boring. At least there was a Subway.

Her dad stopped smoothly at a red light and she looked down at her phone again and hit the replay on the song after realizing she hadn’t paid attention to her favourite part.

The light turned green, Tom waited for someone to cross, and then turned left, quickly speeding off.

“School’s that way.” he said, his hand barely abandoning the wheel to point in a general direction to her right. Belén rose in her seat, as if that would help her catch a glimpse and sulked back down with a huff after being naturally disappointed.

Classes had started two months prior, but her dad hadn’t wanted them to move until their old house was sold. She had feared she wouldn’t be allowed to join the school body, but the principal had known her grandparents well, or so had her dad, Thomas, said a while back, when he could at least still open his mouth to talk.

As they passed a corner, the latina girl leaned in to take a look at the street sign: Calawah Way. After some blocks, the car turned left again, and then once last time as they slowed down in the middle of Mayberry in front of a two story house.

Belén knew it could be pretty, with some love and dedication of course.

It had belonged to her paternal grandparents, who died when she was ten, and there had been no one to maintain it afterwards, having no other close relatives left. It was a surprise, really, that it wasn’t in worse shape, not that she could really tell at first sight of course.

Her dad hadn’t fully come to a stop when she unbuckled her seatbelt and jumped out, needing to stretch her legs.

She stretched almost in a cat-like manner, cursing under her breath when her earphones fell off, but catching them before they hit the wet ground.

The grey clouds weren’t getting any prettier, but she doubted it’d rain till nightfall at least. Another thing to bitch about, the shitty weather. Her hair would start suffering soon, no doubt.

“Maybe we could paint it one of these days.” she suggested to her dad, looking at their new home with fake contempt before turning and opening the back door, carefully grabbing one of her suitcases and a black crate. From inside, a small sound of protest was made:l ‘meow’.

“We’re here, Usagi.” she told her cat gently, pushing the car door closed with her foot and moving slowly, so as to not scare her baby. 

“‘S fine like this.” Tom sighed, again, and ducked into the trunk to get the rest of their suitcases out.

She begged to differ. The paint was so old and had come off on some many places, she couldn’t be sure what colour it used to be.

Green and white would suit it nicely. Anything that could give it a little life, it’d also help to lift her dad’s spirits, and god knew he needed it.

Preferably before she lost her shit.

On the steps leading up to the front door, under the mistreated porch sat a middle aged man, probably her dad’s high school friend, Charlie Swan. She remembered talking to him on the phone on hers or her parents birthdays a few times, and seeing a picture or two here and there.

Putting on her best smile, she walked up to him just as he rose to his feet, dusting off his pants and meeting her halfway.

“Hi, Charlie. It’s nice to officially meet you.” she leaned in and kissed his cheek, pulling back quickly when she felt something brushing against her stomach.

She fought back the blush as Charlie pulled back the hand he had extended in greeting.

“Uh, same, kiddo.” he brushed it off awkwardly, making her feel worse. _Keep smiling_ , she told herself. “Sorry it had to be like this.”

Thomas walked up in that moment, and much like his daughter, seemed to forget where they were and placed a hand on Charlie’s shoulder before absentmindedly kissing his cheek. Unlike his daughter though, he didn’t notice his slip. He was barely there as it were.

“Charlie.” was all he said.

“Tom. Uh,” he looked from father to daughter, searching for the right words in a situation where there were none. “I’m sorry about Melissa.”

Thomas hummed, looking up at his old home with a faraway look, so Charlie turned to Belén, whose smile turned rueful.

“Thanks, Charlie. And thanks so much for the help with the move, it really means a lot.” Most of the furniture had been sold with the house, her dad wanting nothing that reminded him of his late wife. Belén had thrown fit after fit until he at least allowed her to keep her bedroom, which had been shipped along with most of their clothes weeks in advance. Back then, Tom hadn’t been so bad; he was adamant in leaving their lives behind and had arranged everything, but after the house papers had been signed, he had almost gone into a comatose state, which meant the last details of the move had fallen into a seventeen year old hands.

Thomas walked back to the car and returned with the last suitcase. He kept walking, mumbling something about going in as he passed by them.

“It was nothing, really.”Charlie dismissed it with a wave of his hand, dark eyes following his friend with concern. “I, uh, I put your stuff in your dad’s old room, if that’s okay.”

“It’s perfect, but you didn’t have to, really.” an image of Chief Swan pushing and pulling her heavy wooden closet into the house by himself made her cringe. That stuff was heavy.

“Of course I did. Some friends of your dad, Harry, Billy and Waylon helped.” he picked up one of her pink suitcases and began walking to the house while she carried the other. “Well, Harry and Waylon helped, Billy just bossed us around.”

Belén snorted a laugh and thanked him as he signaled for her to go in first.

She stopped in the small foyer before almost shily walking into the living room. The furniture was old, it looked a bit weak, but everything was clean and neatly in place. The couch took up most of the space, and in front of it sat a nice coffee table. The wood was dark, it had a small, crochet tablecloth, on top of which sat a glass with fresh flowers. Against the wall sat a big, ol t.v. She raised her eyebrows when she noticed just how old it was. It had a wood frame.

“Harry’s wife, Sue, cleaned up the house about a week ago. We left the windows open to let some air in and all.”

Yeah, she had prepared herself for a smell alright. It had been about six years since anyone had set foot inside that house. She had expected to find a two story rat nest at best.

She couldn’t imagine the state the house must’ve been in just one or two weeks ago.

“Do dad’s friends live too far?” she asked Charlie, turning to look at him as she addressed him. “I wanna cook something for them, it’s the least I can do to thank them, especially Sue I imagine.”

“I can give you directions.” he answered, pointing at the wooden stairs to his left. With a quick nod, he began to climb up and she followed, careful of Usagi in the crate. Old pictures lingered, but she didn’t stop to check them out. Otherwise, she’d just stand there for hours.

“Pa?” she asked, stopping behind Charlie, head popping out to look at him. He stood in front of an open door, looking confused. She caught a glimpse of her desk and looked back at his head. “You’re in Yaya’s and Tata’s room now, remember?” 

A part of her wanted to offer to switch, but the bigger part of her didn’t want to coddle him too much and she had been raised to do things such as yield the biggest room to the adult. Having a bigger room would be pretty cool though.

“Uh, right, right, of course.” He picked up his cases and turned, crossing the small hallway and pushing another door open.

Charlie walked into her room and placed her suitcases in, returning to the threshold almost immediately, eyes darting in the direction Thomas had gone to.

“I thought-”

“He wasn’t so bad ‘till some weeks ago.” she spoke, understanding where his head was at. Clearing her throat, she made an effort to get rid of her accent. In the last few years, after her paternal grandparents died and her dad began to lose contact with his old friends, they had lost some practice with their english. She used to speak with a neutral accent as a child, but as she reluctantly and begrudgingly picked up the language again, she realized she was kinda screwed. “Me and Alba,” she was a friend of her mom. “talked him into therapy, and he went and did better, for about two months; but when the house got sold he just, I don’t know.” she stretched out her hand in her dad’s direction despite there being two walls in between them. “He turned into that. I told him not to sell the house, but you know how he can be when he decides something.” Hell, her being now stuck in that place was an example of how headstrong he was.

Charlie’s eyebrows rose and brushed his hairline as he gave her the reason.

“Yeah, I remember well.” he turned to her once more and looked around the room. “So, you like how we arranged everything? Because I can move it around, it’s no problem.”

“It’s perfect.” she lied easily. She hadn’t really looked at the room yet, and even if she didn’t like it, she couldn’t have Charlie getting an hernia from pushing her crap around. He had done a lot already.

“I was thinking of taking your dad fishing next weekend, maybe seeing Billy and Harry will help him. Waylon will probably come too, and you can meet Sue? She has a daughter, I think you’re the same age.”

Belén nodded; she really wanted to meet these people and thank them.

“Sure. That’d be cool.”

Charlie attempted to smile, and with some awkward noises resembling words, retreated into her dad’s new room.

Belén put the crate down and closed the door, leaning against it, the back of her head lightly hitting the wood. 

She closed her eyes and gripped the handle tightly. God, she really wanted her mom at that moment.

The thought had her pushing herself off the door. She couldn’t start crying now, she had some shit to get done.

“Meow!”

Her eyes snapped open.

“Sorry, Usagi.” 

She was fast in realising the cat, and didn’t make much noise as she stood up again, giving her room to come out on her own terms.

Looking around the room, she wasn’t surprised to find it was in desperate need of a hand or two of paint. She could distinguish what seemed like spaceships on the wallpaper, almost completely deprived of colour. The curtains were of a sad grey, pale baseball bats all over the fabric.

At least it had nice illumination. Or it could, if the sun ever came out on that town. From what she had heard, it wasn’t very likely.

Her desk had been unwisely placed under a window, and she could already see herself procrastinating by staring out into the woods out back, the dull trees much more entertaining than the homework she still didn’t have to do.

Her bed had been placed against the wall to the desk’s left, and the closet and dresser had been placed on the wall behind them.

She was careful not to trip over the boxes laying around as she advanced and sat on the edge of the bed. Someone had placed a set of sheets over it, along with her light green comforter and left a thin blanket neatly folded on top. The rest of her things remained untouched. 

It was a nice gesture. She’d have to make sure to cook something extra special for this Sue.

Usagi’s yellow furr caught her eyes, and for a few seconds, she just watched as the cat slowly began to creep around the new place, her pink nose coming close to every solid object as she became acquainted with everything.

Looking around, she couldn’t help but feel as if everything about that place where wrong. From the windows to her left and in front of her. From the faded, old curtains to the wall of the neighbour's house. From the way her furniture had been arranged to the floor, which was wood instead of ceramic. From the way the room seemed to loom over her, locking her in, away from everyone, to the knowledge that even if she stepped outside she’d feel the same, albeit far more exposed.

The bed dipped to her left. Usagi kept looking around as her paws contracted and extracted over the sheets and she began to purr. Her dad had suggested giving her up for adoption, but Belén had channeled her inner Regina George and manipulated him into agreeing. She’d be better off with a vet in the house, and she trusted her dad to help her with everything. Usagi’s wide eyes centered on her, another meow leaving her, sounding almost like a question. _‘Where are we, human?’_ How could she be selfish enough to drag a poor cat all the way across the continent?

Belén’s angst began to bubble, and as she recognized the anger that asked to surface, she stood up with a start, violently pulling the door open and heading into her dad’s room. He and Charlie sat shoulder to shoulder at the end of the bed, looking at the wall.

She could smell the awkwardness, and any other time might have cracked a joke or thrown some comment at them.

They both looked at her as she stood there.

“I need money for the groceries and stuff for Usagi.”

“Right, right.” her dad said, reaching into the front pocket of his jeans and pulling out his wallet. He handed it to her, and she grabbed the small thing. 

“I guess I’ll leave you to it.” she said, getting no further response from either, and abandoned the lame scene as fast as she could.

“Does she have a driver's license?” she heard Charlie ask as she skipped down the stairs.

“Yeah.”her dad outright lied, to which she almost found some hope for him still.

She had no idea where the grocery store was, having not paid too much attention on her way into the town, but it couldn’t be too hard to find, right? In any case, she could always stop to ask someone.

The air had cooled, raising goosebumps on her olive skin, and she almost went back inside to get a sweater before shrugging. She wouldn’t be outside for too long.

Getting into the car, she looked at the house, sadly standing there, depressing as shit with the chipped paint and old windows. 

She leaned back on the seat and looked up and down the street. None of the houses were fancy or anything, but they had more evidence of people living in them than hers. Modest as some seemed to be, they were in decent shape.

Slowly, she pulled out of the driveway and rounded the block before heading back down the street she had come, trying to guess where to turn to go back downtown.

She tried not to think too much about it, tried to convince herself that towns back home looked like Forks, but they didn’t really. The buildings didn’t quite fit into the images she had, and even if they did, the fact that this was some small place forgotten by god was impossible to escape. She had never wanted to move into a town, the idea dreadful; to permanently move into one on the other side of the continent was even worse.

She wanted to go back home, to cities and towns with houses of bricks, where she could grab a bus and be at her best friend’s house in five minutes, where she was the one giving people directions instead of asking for them, where she knew everyone at school, and everything was just normal and made sense.

The buildings downtown almost fooled her, until she’d read the names of the stores and streets in a language she knew but had never cared too much for.

No one looked at her as she found what apparently was a mexican grocery store and parked, but she still felt on edge.

She looked at the sign and sighed. It wasn’t home, not even close, but she wasn’t about to complain...out loud. It wasn’t the town’s fault that her life had turned to shit in the past few months, but-

Getting some hair out of her face, she hugged herself and headed in. She might be as miserable as someone could get, but she refused to starve.


	2. Love at first creep

Chapter 2: Love at first creep

  
  
  


“Hurry up so we can leave this wretched place.”

“What do you think this is?” Alice asked, holding a small package with what looked like very thin slices of meat up.

Mrs. Stanley, who was walking by them, looked up from her shopping list and gave them an odd look. Rosalie glared back, and the woman hurried along, her short curls bouncing as she went.

“Can we leave _now_?” she asked again, crossing her arms over her chest and looking around the grocery store, trying not to breathe unless necessary, the smells almost overbearing.

Alice placed the meat on the cart and stilled for a fraction of a second before moving further down the aisle. Rosalie followed her sister with suspicious eyes, wondering what she had stopped to check out this time.

When Alice had asked her to go with her to get something from the store, Rose had been almost too eager, but that was what watching a four hour chess match between Edward and Jasper did. They had only moved three times, she was truly regretting not having gone out to hunt with Emmett, Esme and Carlisle when her sister slid down the stairs and asked her to go out with her.

Had she known they’d be buying human food, she would’ve stayed at home, probably gone to the garage to work on Carlisle’s car. It was making a noise, too low to be noticed by humans, but she didn’t want it to get worse.

“Soon.” she said ominously, grabbing her hand and pulling her along. “C’mon, we need cookies!”

“No, we don’t.”

Alice giggled.

“We will.”

“Ugh.” 

Almost stomping, she went with her sister, scrunching her nose at the nasty smell of the cookies. She hadn’t really cared for sweets as a human, and as a vampire, she couldn’t believe how people ate those things. They were pure sugar, the smell almost as sweet as the sodas they obsessed over nowadays.

She saw no point in doing this.

“Pick some, Rose.” Alice encouraged her.

“I’d rather touch a shapeshifter.” she mumbled, too low for human ears.

“And you say you’re not so dramatic anymore.”

Alice giggled once more, which only infuriated her further.

What was the point? She knew they needed to show up at the grocery store from time to time and buy some stuff to seem human, but that was usually a task Esme partook in. Her sweet mother was always happy to come down to the store, taking any excuse to try and socialize with the people of Forks despite her repeated failures.

She turned her nose and growled at the old man that looked her up and down. These humans didn’t deserve Esme’s kindness anyways. 

She walked back to the fridges when Alice told her to grab water, her scowl deepening as she saw the angry reflection staring back. She opened the door and didn’t even bother to check the brands. 

“Is this enough?” she asked Alice as she placed a single bottle inside the cart

Alice looked down at the lonely bottle, almost lost in a sea of cookie packages,and shrugged.

“I think so.”

Rosalie closed the door and caught her reflection again. She ran her fingers through her perfect hair a-

Her golden eyes settled on a hazy figure over her left shoulder.

Abruptly, she turned around and almost felt her dead heart beat again.

Next to her, Alice giggled again.

“Looking at something special?”

She was. Special indeed. On the other side, a girl pushed a cart, moving slow like a snail.

She carried herself on beige sandals, which wrapped securely around her dainty ankles. Rosalie’s eyes trailed up. She wore a denim skirt that reached mid-thigh and a yellow blouse with white flowers. She had pretty hair; curly dark locks so long they almost reached her hips pushed back and held in place by a loose braid.

The girl looked up. Rosalie breathed in and held it. They were far away, but her enhanced sight allowed her to distinguish two stunning eyes: one dark brown, the other of a blue so deep and bright it’d put oceans to shame, framed by soft angled eyebrows. They belonged to the most lovely face she had seen, with heart-shaped lips, a small, straight nose on a heart shaped face.

She was obviously human, and even from afar, Rosalie could detect some imperfections,...and yet, she was the most precious thing she had ever seen.

She wanted to approach her, grab the girl and take her and Emmett away, somewhere where she’d be safe.

Alice’s hand closed around her wrist and Rosalie began to snarl.

“You’ll scare her if you go now, Rose.” her sister told her gently. “You should wait until monday. I know you will share some classes with her.”

Rosalie didn’t fully process her words, her eyes, glued to the girl as she turned back to the product on her hand as she carefully placed it on the cart. 

The blonde vampire was moving somehow, and when an aisle came between her and her mate she panicked. 

“It’s fine. We’re just giving her some space.”

They made it to the end of the aisle and stopped. Rosalie looked around and saw her stop in front of the liquid sug-the sodas. She stared at them in silence for a few seconds.

“Ha.” was the dry, slow monosyllabe she emitted, but it was more than enough to make Rosalie want to hear it again. Such a pretty voice.

She had never seen this girl before, but she knew what she was to her. The word kept repeating itself over and over in her head, like a chant.

_Mate. Mate. Mate. Mine. Ours. Mate. Mate. Protect. Mate. Mate. Mate._

She wished Emmett were there as well. He had been the most excited when Alice first got a vision of their last third, while Rose had been wary and untrusting.

After some hesitation, the girl leaned in and opened the fridge, taking out a few small bottles of soda and moving on to the water.

There was nothing special on the way she moved, and yet the vampire couldn’t look away.

“Why did you bring me here?” she asked in a whisper, as if any sound could ruin the moment.

It was tourture, to have her so near and yet not going to her. Rosalie’s legs itched, her body begged her to move towards the girl and introduce herself. She could do that, right? But what would she set in motion by doing so? Her sister’s visions of her and Emmett’s mate were quick flashes for the most part, but they were as solid as any vampire’s skin, and she knew better than to go against Alice.

She could see her excitedly standing on her tiptoes and leaning against the cart.

“I had a vision of her coming here. I thought you’d like to see her. I would’ve bought Emmett too, but we wouldn’t have made it on time.” Placing a hand on her sister’s shoulder, Alice looked at the girl. “She’s pretty.”

“She’s,...she’s…”

Rosalie forced herself not to look at her so much, but her mind conjured a perfect image. She didn’t know what to say, at a loss for words for the first time in a long time.

“We’re gonna be great friends. I saw it!” Alice nodded, planting her feet on the ground again. “Oh, Rose! I’m so happy for you both! Just you wait. I saw-”

“Don’t spoil it.” she said quickly.

She didn’t want to hear any more of Alice’s visions regarding hers and Emmett’s mate. She placed her elbow on the aisle and kept on staring as the girl moved about. An old lady leaned in to ask her if she could reach the toilet paper, to which her mate smiled politely.

“Of course, ma’am.” she answered, her voice even lovelier than last time she had made use of it seconds prior.

“You sure you don’t wanna know?”

“Alice,-”

“Fine. Fine.”

The girl gave the woman the package she wanted and moved on slowly, and Rosalie forced herself to not follow her.

With great effort, she turned to Alice.

“You think she’ll like me?”

“Oh, she’ll _love_ you.” the short vampire beamed. “Especially if you wear tight jeans on monday.”

Rosalie rolled her eyes and didn’t move, for if she did she would seek her out and probably scare her.

She wasn’t too sure how she felt about having a human mate, but one thing she was absolutely certain of was that she’d protect her with everything in her.

“Let’s go tell the others.” 

She slowly followed Alice, counting the seconds until monday. Stealing one last, sweet glance at her, she saw her frowning at an isle.

“Where’s the oreos?” she mumbled to herself.

Rose looked down at their cart and her chest rumbled.

“I didn’t see _that_ coming.” was all the apology she got.


	3. I mean, she's not a slut, but who knows? Part 1

Chapter 3: I mean, she’s not a slut, but who knows?

Part 1

_“And I never saw you coming_

_And I’ll never be the same”_

_State of Grace-Taylor Swift_

Belén didn't really get to see much of Forks her first weekend there. She dedicated herself to arranging everything in her room and then her dad’s, when it became apparent that he was useless for pretty much anything that didn’t involve looking after Usagi.

She did however, begin to get a sense of where to go to get specific products. By Saturday afternoon, she had already taken care of getting everything, from groceries to cleaning supplies.

On Sunday, she forced herself not to sleep in the whole day, and instead read some about the school curriculum of the country. She would’ve rather had a video call with her friends from home, but the Internet guy would be passing by to make the installations on monday after school (she had arranged it that way in case her dad didn’t answer the door).

She also studied her grandparents' pictures. They had so many! Most were of Thomas and her. 

She hadn’t known them that well. They only visited her back in Montevideo once or twice a year, and then her grandmother passed away when she was eight during surgery. She had always been rather delicate and one day her appendix burst, but for some reason beyond Belén’s comprehension, she had taken her sweet time going to the hospital. Grandpa visited them twice again the following year, but he stayed longer than usual, probably because he didn’t like being alone, Melissa had said. They had tried to convince him to move into a nursing home, or to move south with them. Getting the nationality wasn’t that difficult, after all, but he had refused. Belén was almost ten the last time she saw him, waving goodbye at her at the Carrasco Airport. It had been the middle of the night, but she had been wide awake and kept waving until the plane took off into the dark, cloudless sky. Her mom had had a bad feeling, and it was only three months later that her dad got the call. People said that sadness was what killed him.

If there was one thing her dad probably regretted as much as selling their old house, it was probably not coming to his parents funerals. When grandma died, it had been his dad who told him not to worry, that he understood money was a bit tight at the moment and plane tickets weren’t cheap. When grandpa died, Thomas hadn’t really seen the point.

“He won’t know.” he had said to his wife. Belén, who was having breakfast, felt something heavy press against her chest.

Years later, Belén began to realize her dad had serious issues in coming to terms with death.

She had come to terms with their deaths fairly easily, but she suspected it also had to do with the fact that her mom had seen fit to take her to a psychologist and have him help with the process.

Her other grandfather's death, however, had hit her much harder. Her Tata José had been a carpenter. It was what he had done since he was a child, all he knew. His dad had been a carpenter too, but when he got sick, tata José dropped out of middle school and took over the business to provide for his parents, and afterwards, things were just too complicated to go back to study, so he stuck with it. He had been really good, very pristine in his work.

Almost all the furniture in her room had been made by him when she was about eight, and he had also made her baby crib. Her mother had loved that crib, and never had it in her to get rid of it. Which was why she had cried and screamed in rage when her dad sold that too. 

Tata José had loved Thomas like a son, and had he been alive to see him disregard the life he and Melissa had built and drag her away from him into another country, he would’ve died of a heartbreak, for sure.

She smiled gently as she took the pictures out of their folder. Looking through a few, she chuckled when she found one of her favourites. Tata José was teaching her how to use roller skates; he had led her gently, his hands, of a rich mahogany, and the flash of the camera making her almost look pale in comparison against the skin of her forearms. He had been talking, soothing her, convincing her that she wouldn’t fall flat on her face. He mustn’t have done such a good job, for the picture showed a wide set of unmatching eyes staring off to a side, mouth half open, as if ready to scream her lungs out like the drama queen she was back then.

She put it back into the folder with tenderness next to the others and looked up from her position on the ground at the wall above her bed. She wanted to get rid of that old wallpaper and paint the room, maybe of a light green or pink, and then she’d put the pictures up in some nice arrangement.

Placing the folder in a box, she pushed it under the bed and stood up. She heard the door to the bathroom being opened and called out to her dad:

“Can you make sure Usagi makes it back inside?” she raised her voice and waited.

“What? Sure, right, yeah.” he answered, barely making it to her threshold. He looked around with a small frown, his eyes taking in the space. He noticed she was in her pyjamas already. “You’re gonna sleep already? You know, school starts at nine.”

“Yeah but I still have some jet lag. I don’t wanna fall asleep in class on the first day.”

_Bitch, I’ve been running around settling everything these past few days. I’m beat._

He nodded and gripped the handle.

“Ok, sweet dreams, I guess.”

“You know where the cat food is?”

All the response she got was a small grunt. Her hands closed into fists and her eyes rolled into the back of her head with such violence it ended up hurting.

Letting herself fall on the bed, she cringed as her back pain intensified abruptly, but forced herself to remain in that position, only moving her legs to get them under the sheets.

She made sure her phone was plugged and charging, and after a moment’s hesitation, checked her alarms before finally dropping them.

It was only after she closed her eyes that she dared to turn off the light.

* * *

Because life was a massive asshole and seemed to have it against her, she was wide awake at six, looking at the droplets of water as they fell against the window, picking a specific one and silently encouraging it to win her imaginary race.

When her droplet lost, she made a grimace and closed her eyes tight. She was tired, but still, sleep eluded her, so the girl stood up and decided to take a shower, cursing under her breath from her bed to her closet, from the closet to the bathroom, from the bathroom to the shower, and on and on until she was back in her room, all dressed up and with bags so big under her eyes she could carry her books inside.

Belén admired herself on the full length mirror she had found in her grandparents bedroom and stol- er, transported, into hers.

She looked cute. Well, she had actually put some effort, after all. She had deliberately washed her hair the previous afternoon (because her curls had never gotten along with hair dryers and it needed to be left alone) and had pulled a few strands back into two loose french braids to the back of her head, letting the rest fall into two simple three strand braids, which got lost amongst the other locks.

She had put on her Wonder Woman hoodie, a birthday present from one of her closest friends back home. It was surprisingly thick and warm, which would probably do her good if what she had heard about winters in Washington was true. Nodding to herself, she sat on the bed and put on her boots, quickly lacing the straps and making sure her black jeans wouldn’t come off. If a single portion of her skin felt the cold she was about to face (besides her face), she wasn’t sure she’d survive.

Grabbing her things, Belén headed down the stairs with heavy footsteps, stopping with a foot in the air on the last step as she saw her dad staring at the t.v.

“Have you been here all night?”

She waited, walking around silently, until he finally seemed to process her question.

Thomas ran a hand through his brown hair. It was kinda dirty.

“Uh, I guess I fell asleep.”

“Want some breakfast?”

He shrugged, so she took it as a ‘yes’ and took a turn to her left, heading to the small kitchen. Placing her Hogwarts backpack on a chair, she set herself to work.

After a few minutes, she heard two sets of footsteps, one light and quick, the other heavy and dragging.

“Coffee or tea?” 

“Tea.”

“Can you open the door for Usagi?”

She heard the cat meowing as she seemed to realize where Thomas was heading, and turned just as he closed the door once more. Through the window, Belén could see the feline strolling excitedly towards the trees, tail in the air as she stopped to smell some thing or the other.

The girl turned back to her dad and offered him a plate.

“Made you an omelet.” It was one of his favourite things to eat; she really didn’t get it. Eggs were pretty gross.

He thanked her in such a low voice she had to stay completely still to hear him, and smiled before moving on to make herself some toasts. 

“Is the school too far away?” she had already found the place on saturday, having gotten directions from a girl at the Subway she had had lunch at. It was definitely too far to walk, especially in the rain. 

“Kinda.” he answered, covering his mouth as he chewed.

Well, at least he was eating.

“Is there a bus or something? You know, like those from the movies?” Belén put on her most innocent face as she filled the toast with strawberry marmalade until the entire space was covered. “Or like, you know, if you’re not too busy, you could drive me there?” She took a small bite and covered her mouth as well. “It could help you to get reacquainted with the town, and you could use some fresh air.”

“There’s a bus stop on Trillium and Calawah.”

“...Right.” she gritted her teeth and looked up at the clock on the wall, trying to intimidate the object into moving faster.

Why did class have to start so late? 

Ok, it was cool going in at nine instead of seven, but she was desperate to get out of that place.

“Well, look after Usagi at least. I’m scared she might get a cold or something.”

He nodded, the only sign he had heard her, but kept on eating, gaze lost as usual, and she held in a scream.

* * *

Slowly, miserably, she made her way down the street, looking at every house, trying to learn how her new neighborhood looked like. Every minute or two though, she’d deviate her eyes up towards the sky, daring the rain to come. 

Of course she would forget to get an umbrella.

She saw a family of four getting into a minivan. Mom, dad and two sons it seemed. The youngest, who was probably about eight, took notice of her. Belén smiled and waved; he waved back, a Captain America figure held tightly in his hand, and then jumped into the vehicle.

She hugged herself and exhaled, ignoring how her breath came out condensated. If she didn’t think about the cold, she wouldn’t feel it.

It was crap, but a girl had to try.

Arriving at Calawah street, she saw a group of kids about her age gathering in the corner. She began to feel nervous. They all surely knew each other since kindergarten; she’d be the odd one out, which was something she had always hated.

She began to fidget with the laces of her parka, starting to feel a sweat.

Oh, she was warm now, alright.

A girl saw her and seemed to pause mid-conversation. Smiling, she approached Belén, who debated between getting it over with or running back home.

“Hi! You must be the new girl, right?” she offered a toffee coloured hand, and after a moment, Belén remembered she was supposed to shake it. She did, and despite the warmth on the girl’s face, had the feeling that that was how job interviews started. “I’m Shonda; I think we live on the same street.”

They definitely did, unless Shonda had seen some other new faces throughout the weekend.

“Belén.” her voice came out a bit hoarse, so she cleared her throat and repeated her name more firmly but kindly. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too.” Shonda turned, pointing at a tall girl with straight, light brown hair. “That’s Amy.”

Amy ceased the treasure hunt on her backpack to wave at her.

“Hi.” and went back in.

“Amy’s about to tell us how she forgot her history paper.”

“I forgot my h-!”she looked up slowly, eyes squinted, looking like a snake, and showed Shonda her middle finger, making the other chuckle. She sighed, seeing the bus appear around the corner. “I’m gonna miss the first period.”

“Ask Jefferson to let you hand it in tomorrow.”

“Can’t. He hates me.”

“So does Mr. Mason.”

“Yeah, but Mr. Mason doesn’t scare me.”

“Jefferson is a sweetheart.”

“Says his star student.”  
“I’m not sure I’m at the top of the class anymore thanks to Hale.”

Belén only watched them interact, her eyes bouncing from one to the other like a game of ping pong.

“I gotta go home.” Amy whined, closing her backpack and running off.

Shonda watched her go before turning once more to Belén; her eyes, which reminded her of her favourite dulce de leche, sparkled, lighting up her face. She was pretty.

“Wanna sit with me?” she asked, nodding towards the bus as it came to a stop and the doors opened.

“Sure, thanks.” Belén smiled nervously.

A short guy with headphones bigger than his head let them go in first, and Shonda quickly introduced her to the driver, a middle aged man named Joey. He mentioned knowing her dad and asked how he was doing, and the lie came disturbingly easy to her.

“He’s good, thanks. I’ll mention you to him.”

She followed Shonda to the first empty seat she could find and sat next to her, placing her backpack atop her lap.

“Is it true you moved from Latin America?” she asked immediately, accommodating herself with her back against the window.

“From the south, yeah.”

“Where from?”

“Um, Montevideo.” she quickly tried to decide if to specify which country that was in, but doubted she’d known anyways. Nobody would. They were small and quiet.

“That’s in Mexico, right?” a guy asked as he turned around.

He was kinda pale, with small blue eyes and a head full of pale blonde hair.

Belén frowned, wondering how someone could feel surprised and not at the same time.

Shonda rolled her eyes.

“It’s in a whole different country, Mike!” now Belén was only surprised, pleasantly so. Shonda turned back to her. “Uruguay, right? Population: three million something. I don’t know much else, I’m afraid. I haven’t studied all of South America yet.”

“You like geography?” 

The girl nodded vigorously, seeming to come to life, and opened her mouth.

“I’m Mike Newton, by the way.” his hand hung awkwardly between both girls, so Belén shook it quickly so he’d get out of Shonda’s face. “You’re-”

As she looked at the guy, she wasn’t so nervous anymore.

“Too much for you to handle, kid.” the latina answered without thinking, eyes widening right afterwards. Shonda threw her head back and cackled. Her cheeks better not turn red. “But the name’s Belén.”

Mike’s face had fallen; the poor thing looked like a lost puppy.

“Cool.” he said, his voice a high pitched whisper that reminded her of a kettle with boiling water.

“Sorry. First day,...jitters, is it?”

He smiled once more and nodded, too much hope returning to his sweet, round face. The shoulders of the guy sitting next to him shook in silent amusement.

_“God, I should’ve stuck with the bitchy act.”_

The bus took a turn and Belén saw the school building. Everyone began to stand up.

“You know where I can find the secretary?” she asked Shonda as they filed out of the vehicle.

She was still laughing quietly as she nodded.

“Sure.” they walked at a tranquil pace. “You’re a junior too?”

“Yeah.” she had to think about it before answering, still getting used to the different system. 

“Cool! Maybe we’ll share some classes.”

“I hope so.” she dared to say.

They stopped in front of a small building. Shonda checked the time on her phone.

“Listen, I gotta go to the library now. I have this book to return, but, wanna sit with me and my friends for lunch?”

Belén opened and closed her mouth.

“Are they okay with that?”

“Okay with that? They’re gonna love me forever! Everyone’s been talking about the new girl.” at Belén’s paling face, she shrugged. “We don’t really get new people often. Don’t worry. It’ll pass in a few days.”

“Aha. Okay. Awesome.” she pointed at the building behind her. “I’m gonna go hide there now. See you sometime,...next century, maybe?”

“Hang in there, girl.” with a pat on the shoulder, Shonda turned and left her all alone in the parking lot.

Belén watched her go for a few seconds, stalling in the hopes of getting some peace. The day was barely starting and yet she was beginning to feel overwhelmed with all the new faces.

She took a deep breath and decided to get it over with. She just needed to get her schedule. It was an easy task.

Opening the door, she smiled in what hoped was a polite way at the woman at the desk, who had looked up almost immediately.

“Good morning.” she greeted her with a lame attempt at a calm tone. “I’m-”

“Oh, I know who you are, sweetie. I’m Mrs Cope. Give me a moment.” the woman turned around and walked towards a printer that seemed to beg for death and picked up a small stack of papers from it.

“Was all my paperwork in order?” Belén couldn’t help but ask. She was a freak over those things, something her mom and tata Javier had grilled into her head from their own slight paranoia.

“Oh, yes, yes, don’t worry about it.” Mrs Cope returned and placed the papers on top of the desk one by one, pointing out at each one. “This is a map of the school I printed for you. It’s not very big so I don’t think you’ll get lost but you never know. Your locker is here,” she pointed at some dot and Belén nodded, pretending she totally understood where that was and how to get there. “and this is the combination. Now, sweetie, this is your schedule, and this one needs to be signed by all your teachers and be bought back by the end of the day.” she looked up and put on that little smile again. “Do you have any questions?”

“No, no. Thank you, ma’am.” the teen hurried to take everything from the desk and hesitated, noticing the expression on Mrs Cope's face. “Yes?” she egged her on gently.

“I just,- my condolences to you and your dad, sweetie.” she sounded sincere, but that did nothing for Belén.

She forced herself to remain impassive.

“Aha, thanks. Well, have a nice day, ma’am.”

She couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

Being in the parking lot again felt like stepping outside after days locked in. She took in the space. The pavement was wet but there was no trash in it. The white stripes separating each parking space were dusted off, and the place was only half full. The cars looked regular, nothing too fancy, and some teens walked up from one to the other and got in, no doubt to greet their friends, but most stepped outside to do so. 

Belén couldn’t find Mike’s face in the crowd, and now, with the growing number of people filling in the space, she wasn’t quite sure about walking up to them and asking for directions, so she resorted to the map Mrs. Cope had gotten for her, but first she checked her schedule.

**Ana Belén Williams Menendez**

**Statistics, Miss Sampson. Building 5**

She tried to keep her cool and checked the map. She would never admit out loud how long it took her to find her own location in that piece of paper, but it was long enough to lose some decency. 

Eyes alternating between the map and the buildings, she began to walk, gaining some resemblance of confidence as she went.

Walking up a flight of stairs, she looked back to the parking lot and saw two fancy cars pulling up. From the distance, she couldn’t tell what brand they were (not that she had high chances of recognizing them anyways) but they stood out starkly in comparison to the others. She cringed and walked in.

* * *

Her first class wasn’t so bad, except for the fact that Miss Sampson grabbed her by the shoulders before she could make a run for it towards a desk and planted her in front of the class and made her introduce herself.

Belén knew her accent wasn’t heavy despite having picked the language back up recently, but still, she felt like Sofia Vergara in that sitcom.

Thankfully, people seemed to understand her just fine.

Shonda had been there, and she smiled and waved at her from the center of the class. Belén would’ve liked to sit next to her, but she had to settle for three rows to the girl’s left.

After that, the class went on without major issues. She had to do an extra effort to keep up, but that was mostly due to the different terminology. She should’ve taken those english classes to help her settle into school, but she didn’t want to get delayed and sometimes, maybe, perhaps, she was a bit too cocky for her own good.

Luckily for her, Shonda waited and offered to walk her to her next class.

She was nice, and kept pointing in different directions, explaining this and that.

Belén listened intently, keeping her attention solely on Shonda in the hopes it may help her ignore the glances.

_It’ll pass soon. They’ll get bored._

She was left at the door of the classroom with a reminder of lunch, and slightly more at ease, she headed in.

The sociology teacher, Miss Addams, was nice enough and to the point, quickly signing the paper Belén presented her and also giving her the program, letting her know what they’d be talking about that day and instructing her to take a seat whenever she liked.

Belén headed to the back of the room. She had never really had sociology before, but her mom had been friends with a fellow teacher and she had taught her a little when she visited. She had also given Belén a few books. She liked the subject to the level that she didn’t feel the need to sit up front as a way to force herself to pay attention.

Sitting down, she was quick to get her Sailor Moon notebook and pencils out.

She had just written down the subject and teacher’s name on the first page when she looked up and gasped.

_Oh, wow. Shit. Sign me up for the next war._

A giant had walked in. He was just,...just so tall, was the tamest thing Belén could think of.

Was he really a student? Maybe he was repeating? Why would she care?

She had to admit it: he was very intimidating. Not only was he probably two meters tall, he was also pure muscle. She didn’t even think it should be possible to be so hunked.

He had a mass of dark hair on his head, and from the looks of it, also curly. His skin was so pale he could probably blend in with the walls of the classroom.

He greeted the teacher, his voice low and deep, and then he turned and stopped when he saw her.

His eyes were haunting, but in a captivating way. They were golden, which should be impossible, but there was no other colour Belén could think of to describe it.

He just stared at her, a myriad of emotions flashing by, each less recognizable than the last. Belén felt quite dull at the moment, dull and lame, sitting there in her Wonder Woman hoodie and the anime notebooks she had bought from Amazon instead of getting regular ones at a local store.

He advanced slowly, never taking his eyes off her, and with each of his surprisingly silent steps, her heart beat faster and faster.

Gracefully, he took the seat to her right, but Belén forced herself to keep her gaze forward. She could feel him still looking at her, and she had to make a great effort not to fidget.

Wanting something to do with her hands, she grabbed her phone from the edge of the desk and checked the hour. 

“Cute cat.” he spoke, sending a thrill down her spine.

“Uh?” she answered eloquently, turning to look at him. The corners of his lips turned upward and he pointed at her phone with a finger. Oh, of course. Her lockscreen. “Ah, thanks. That’s Usagi; she’s been in the family since I was eight.” the last part came out almost as a question as she tried to remember.

He raised a thick eyebrow.

“As in,...as in Usagi Tsukino?”

Belén leaned back in surprise, the most genuine smile she had pulled since setting foot in that country beginning to form.

“Yeah! You like Sailor Moon?” she sounded way too excited to be proper, but at the moment she didn't care.

The guy’s eyes glimmered like fireflies blinking in and out at night, and a smile as big as hers spread across his face, dimples forming on his cheeks, giving him a look of pure innocence that warmed her body.

“Like? _Like?!_ ” he grinned now, offering a hand. “Emmett Cullen.”

“Belén Williams.”

She took his hand and almost jumped at his temperature, but looking up again she forgot all about that and kept on smiling at him.

"Pretty name for a pretty face _and_ you also have great taste to top all that?" He placed a hand on the left side of his chest. "Be still my heart." He seemed far too amused by that phrase.

"Which sailor scout is your favourite?" Belén couldn't help but ask.

"Rei, definitely. She reminds me of Rose. Yours?"

Before the latina could answer, miss Addams called on the class. Realizing she still held Emmetts hand prisoner (or rather, he held hers), she looked down. His skin was so smooth, and she felt so comfortable holding it. 

_God, I'm a creep._

She let go of it, even hallucinating with some small resistance from his side, and turned on her seat, cracking one last giddy smile at him, her face gaining temperature as she forced herself to pay attention.

She could see people sneaking glances in hers and Emmett’s direction, but the vexation they caused became banal in comparison to the way _he_ kept on looking at her.

It didn't make her uncomfortable, really. Just more aware of herself, but oddly enough in a flattering way. 

And everyone knows there's no such thing as an ego too big.

She dared to look back at him, and he put on a cheeky smile.

"Moon prism power!" He mouthed, and she giggled.

"Something you wanna share with the class, Williams?"

Her heart dropped at her feet as everyone turned towards her.

"N-no, ma'am. Sorry."

_I wanna die._

"Well, then I suggest you and Mr. Cullen stop making eyes at each other and pay attention."

Emmett snorted discreetly.

_I wanna die yesterday._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! College is a bitch, and also, I discovered "Cobra Kai" and now my nostalgia for the Karate Kid movies from the 80s has turned into obsession and I started writing for that as well, lol
> 
> Happy Halloween!!!! (I refuse to believe it ended, okay?!?!?)


	4. I mean, she's not a slut, but who knows? Part 2

Chapter 3: I mean, she’s not a slut, but who knows?

Part 2

It turned out they both had health class right after sociology, so they walked together, chatting animatedly about which Sailor Moon villain was the best and why.

They seemed to advance pretty fast through the building. Belén chose to believe it was because she was having such a good time for a change and not due to all the staring the other students would stop to do.

Were they staring at her? She had been walking the halls for the past periods, but had managed to remain unnoticed for the most part. Was it because of Emmett? He was rather dashing, there was no point in trying to deny it; especially when he smiled. He kept laughing at her lame jokes, but something about it seemed genuine. His eyes shone impossibly bright, and he didn’t tear his gaze from her, even as they took to the stairs.

It was like he was delighted to be in her presence. It sounded ridiculous, and quite arrogant, or maybe even stupid, but Belén couldn’t think of a different word.

So engrossed in him, she barely remembered to stop at the teacher’s desk as they walked into the classroom. Mr. Carruth didn’t seem to notice anything odd, unlike the rest of the class, and quickly signed her slip, smiling as he asked if she’d like to introduce herself in front of the class.

“No, thanks.” was her response, so quick the poor man didn’t get a chance to even finish the question.

Emmett kept on laughing outrageously as he guided her towards the back of the room. He waited for her to choose a seat at their desk before he took the other one. He passed by behind her, his chest brushing her back in the confined space and Belén stiffened, trying not to freak out over something so small. Her cheeks threatened to light up like a building on fire.

Not her best comparison, she realized, as she imagined little dots-like people screaming as they ran over her cheeks.

Shaking her head, she turned to him,

“You know, there’s no need to get all nervous. You’re the coolest person in this place, after Rosie and myself, of course.”

“It’s just,” she stopped herself, the rest of the sentence hanging from the tip of her tongue. She didn’t really know this guy, she shouldn’t bother him with her concerns and worries. They didn’t know each other; he was nice but that didn’t mean he cared, it didn’t mean she should go around telling him about her life, no matter how much she wanted to believe he liked her already. Plus, everyone had their own problems. It’d be a waste of time. And yet, before she knew it, the words were out of her mouth. “Back home I knew everyone, and just today I saw so many faces, and everyone’s so…”

“Strange?” he offered.

She winced.

“Different.” Belén chose. “Don’t get me wrong, they’ve been nice and all, but-”

“They’re not like the people from home.”

“Yeah.” she deflated, looking ahead to hide a sudden wave of tears she refused to spill or show. 

She realized, with a considerable amount of sadness, that she hadn’t given herself proper time to be homesick. Just bits and pieces here and there.

With a fake smile, she turned to Emmett.

“So, who’s Rosie?” she asked.

He looked at her, straight at her, like someone who’s figuring out the pieces of a puzzle before actually putting a section of it together. She hoped he didn’t ask, but she wanted him to.

“She’s-”

“Alright, class! Who knows of the origins of Syphilis?”

* * *

Emmett didn’t push the subject further, but Belén wasn’t any less confused by that.

He helped her find her locker and walked her to her P.E class, leaving with a wave of his gigantic hand and a dimpled smile that lifted her spirits.

She wanted to think he was cute, but somehow the word didn’t really suit him. He was too big and large and intimidating looking for such a sweet term.

Coach Clapp wasn’t so bad. He gave her a uniform and told her she could sit that one out; so instead of engaging, Belén made herself comfortable near the top of the bleachers, hoping the wall would help hide her for a little while. It worked, mostly, and she only got a few envious glances from her classmates as they ran or did push ups.

She couldn’t help the malicious amusement that settled within her and giggled darkly as the most athletic bunch moved over to the less fortunate to help them with the push ups. Coach Clapp watched in silent resignation as his students stood over the others and pulled them up gently by the waist. That man was definitely done for the day.

She spotted Amy playing basketball, being one of two girls to choose that sport instead of volleyball. The brunette moved quite gracefully, eyes on the other players, clearly confident in her ability to keep the ball on her grip. After a sidestep, she passed and moved on.

At the end of the class, Belén thought of approaching her and saying ‘Hi’, maybe asking what her next class was, but as she considered it, the mere idea of speaking to someone else so soon gave her a headache, so she slowly rose from her seat and left the place, using the map she had kept on her pocket to guide herself back to her locker and then to Building 3, where she was meant to have her very first English class with one Mr. Mason.

The latina kept her head low and forced herself not to stare at her phone again. She was getting hungry. There were some snacks on her backpack, but she hadn’t really seen anyone eating in between classes, and felt out of sorts as to what to do, choosing instead to wait for lunch time and internally beg her brain to keep her stomach quiet for one more period.

Had she been back home, she would’ve been having lunch there, the school day ending just before 1 p.m. It was only her first day, but she wasn’t sure she could make it till 3 . Even staying home watching her dad stare off into the distance sounded better.

As she entered the classroom, she quietly introduced herself for the hundredth time that day and gave Mr. Mason her slip, her nerves wrecking as he took his sweet time signing it. She was disappointed when, after finally finishing, he gave her back something resembling a doodle more than letters.

Turning around, she hit something hard, like a wall, but there couldn’t be a wall in the middle of a classroom, right? and her feet slid across the floor.

She braced herself for the fall, arms reaching out to try and stop it before she hit her, and grunted softly when something wrapped around her waist and pulled her back up against the hard wall.

Opening her eyes, she looked up to find an angelic face smiling down at her. Lips pulled back into a warm, gentle smile, topaz eyes teary in a face so perfect it was like evolution jumped ahead a few millennia on its owner.

Blond hair fell around the face, brushing Belén’s, creating a veil of gold that hid them from the world.

The girl felt herself shivering. Was that excitement or cold?

“Are you okay?”

_But OF COURSE her voice is beautiful too. Why?! How can one person be so perfect? If there’s a god, the fucker clearly has favourites. I bet people can buy their way up after all._

She nodded, starting to answer in spanish, then catching herself mid-word and switching languages.

“Yeah, thanks. I’m sorry. I killed you, didn’t I?”

The girl tilted her head, one eyebrow twitching into a frown for a moment.

“What?”

“I-I mean, I hit you real hard, didn’t I? I’m sorry, it’s an expression, guess it doesn’t translate well. And hitting you. I mean that I’m sorry. For hitting you; I mean humping you.”

The teacher choked behind them and the angel giggled.

“You mean ‘bump’?”

“What did I say?” Belén asked with a squeal, wanting to die, picturing it in her head, anime style.

The girl straightened up, pulling Belén with her, hands softly gripping at her waist. Still smiling, she nodded.

“I can tell you once we sit?”

Belén was too eager, her decencey having long deserted her (but her mortification hadn’t!) and almost jumped towards the angel when she dropped her hands from her waist. Instead she glued herself to the floor with wide eyes. She actually almost jumped the poor girl. God, she hoped she hadn’t noticed.

Slowly, very, very slow, she followed the girl to the back of the classroom, focusing on the back of her head.

_Don’t look at her butt, Bele. Don’t! Don’t check her out!_

The girl stood behind a chair on the last row, and instead of walking behind her like Emmett had done, Belén silently mourned and passed in front instead, the desk in between keeping them apart. 

As she went to pull the chair back, blondie got ahead of her first, pulling it gently, the legs not producing their typical scraping sound, and motioned with a perfectly manicured hand for the other girl to seat.

Belén did.

_Weird. Cute, but weird._

She sat down to her left, and when the latina turned to look at her, she noticed something off. She seemed nervous, happy but nervous. The tip of her shoe tapped the floor, she tried yet failed at remaining still, and her eyes seemed almost unable to settle in one place.

The girl took a deep breath and just like that, she changed her entire demeanor. The air around seemed calmer. She smiled politely.

“I’m Rosalie. Rosalie Hale.”

“It’s a pretty name.” Belén complimented sincerely. It suited her, truly. “Belén Williams.”

“Did you just move here, Belén?” Rosalie asked, turning so she was facing her in the seat, one elbow on the back of the chair, the other on top of the desk, hands playing with the other.

“Yeah. Dad and me.” she nodded slowly. _Here it goes again._

“My family and I moved here about a year ago. We move often.” her expression softened. “I understand it must be quite the change.”

“Where’d you guys come from?”

“Alaska. You’re from further away, right?”

Belén smirked.

“What gave it away? It was the accent, wasn’t it?” 

Rose chuckled.

“The rumors, actually.”

“Did anyone get the country right?”

“Some didn’t even get the continent right, I believe.”

Belén joined in the laughter.

“But no;” Rosalie shook her head. “Actually, your boldness with me gave it away.”

The other girl leaned back, slightly confused.

“What?”

“For future reference: hump, often used to reference the action of grinding a person-”

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry!”

_God, please, I never ask for anything but: SHOOT ME NOW! Hit me with lighting or something. Do it! Just do it!_

Rosalie waved a hand.

“Don’t worry. It was funny. You made me smile.”

“You say it like it's a big feat.”

“My brother Edward would confirm that it is.”

“I’d add it to my curriculum if I had one.”

Rosalie kept her gleeful gaze on her for a moment or two. Belén felt uncomfortable, but not necessarily in a bad way. She felt like a blossoming plant being admired by its caretaker.

“So,” she pulled the program Mr. Mason had given her out of her High School Musical notebook. “any idea what we’re doing today? I mean, it's probably something I haven’t read but still.”

* * *

Rosalie was distracting, which was slightly off putting for Belén. Yeah, girls were pretty and all, but it wasn’t supposed to be such a big deal.

However, it was hard to look ahead at the board and not to her left. Everytime Rosalie moved even just a little, Belén started to turn in her direction; luckly, she caught herself doing it most times and stopped.

The hour seemed to drag on. Every time she looked at the big clock on the wall, it seemed like the needles had moved backwards instead of forward.

When the bell rang, Belén jumped out of her seat, books in hand and face hot. She turned her back on the other girl as she grabbed everything, and debated weather just playing aloof and leaving or acknowledging her.

Leaving just like that was so rude; she’d probably lose sleep over that.

Lose sleep or make herself a bigger idiot yet and never living it down?

“Do you need help?”

_Yeah, I most certainly do._

“Sorry?”

Quickly, she counted up to three in her head and spun. Rosalie was definitely taller, she’d probably wouldn’t be as much without those amazing heels though.

“With this class. I doubt this is what you were taught back in Montevideo.”

Had she told her _where_ in the country she was from? Belén wasn’t sure. She remembered Rosalie saying something about it, but she couldn’t focus enough.

She shook her head. It wasn’t a big deal.

“This certainly isn’t Quiroga, alright.” she began to thread forwards, towards the door.

Knowing that the blond girl was walking behind her even despite the lack of clicking sounds made her nervous. She could feel her, like she imagined a demon felt like in those horror movies, but pretty and alive.

“Who?”

“Oh, he wrote like, short stories, yes?” she turned so she’d look at her in the eye as she spoke. As nerve-wracking and intimidating this chick was, Belén’s manners won most of the time. “They’re cool, but people always die in them. My teacher said it was ‘cause he was all traumatized.”

“By what?”

“Well, he killed his best friend,...by accident!” she added quickly.

Rosalie’s expression didn’t change.

“Like that makes it any better.”

Belén chuckled nervously and pushed some strands behind her ear. Rosalie’s eyes snapped to follow the motion. The latina pretended not to notice and forced herself not to think on it.

“Yeah, I guess.”

They walked out together, side by side. People were staring funny again.

She had seen the cafeteria earlier when she first arrived, but with all the building changes she had made, she was a bit disoriented, so instead chose to not ditch her companion.

“So, do you?”

“What?”

Rosalie didn’t seem irritated by her stupidity, thank god.

“Need help with the class?”

The brunette considered it. She definitely did, if she wanted to make it to the exam without a crisis, but she wasn’t sure she could handle being near Rosalie for extended periods of time. This wasn’t the first time Belén found a girl to be pretty in a non roundabout way. It wasn’t like when she told her friends they were pretty, no; this was the kind of pretty that had her feeling warm all over, fingers tingling to touch her, run her fingers through her silky hair, push her gently against the wall and kiss her. So far, most girls she had crushed on were on a screen or passing by in the street, worlds away. None had ever been right in front of her, looking very real and talking to her like they wanted to be friends.

She looked down at her book, biting her lip. She was being stupid. Just because she had gotten the hots for Rosalie didn’t mean there was a risk of anything happening. They could be friends. Yeah. Rosalie seemed nice. The longer she spent around her, the lesser her crush would be. It would disappear, and then she could relax again.

“If it’s not a bother-”

“Not at all.” 

She looked up to see Rosalie beaming at her and her breath caught in her throat.

“G-great!” her voice came out far more high pitched than usual, and she cringed. Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? “Uh, li-”

“Belén!” She blinked, and there was Shonda, grinning at her and clutching a folder to her chest. “C’mon, I’ll take you to our ta-ah. Oh...uh...hello.” the dark skinned girl steadily slowed down her speech, noticing Rosalie standing right there.

The blond seemed to struggle between indifference, anger, and giddiness, all which were alien to Belén at that moment. In the end, she seemed to settle for neutral civility.

“Hi. You’re Shonda, right? I believe we share P.E.”

“...Right...Yeaaaaah...that we do.”

An uncomfortable silence settled between the three. Shonda seemed out of the loop, like Rosalie had just announced she was a martian. Rosalie seemed to be waiting for Shonda to leave or contemplating leaving herself. Belén just wanted to go home and take a nap with Usagi.

“So, like,” she started, her stomach reminding her of her new mission. “I promised Shonda I’d sit with her for lunch. Do you wanna-?”

“Thank you, d-Belén, but no.” when the blond turned to her, she spoke so gently that the brunette felt the need to giggle and hide her face in the crook of her pale neck. “Perhaps I'll see you later.”

Belén smiled briefly and grabbed Shonda’s arm, who uttered a quick farewell, which was returned with the same amount of inelegance.

The two girls walked down the corridor and out of the building into the cold November day. Belén wanted to die. It was freezing. She thought back to her wardrobe at home, startling to realize with dread that her winter clothes weren’t gonna cut it.

_Meh. I’m probably being dramatic. It can’t get colder than this._

It was impossible, surely.

“What were you doing talking to Rosalie Hale?” Shonda asked as they stepped inside the cafeteria. Belén wanted to stop and take it in. This was her first time inside of one of those, having only seen them in movies and such. The awe lasted for about three seconds, and with a spiritless “ha”, she shrugged and followed her new friend. It looked like a mall food court, minus the adults, children and bags to avoid knocking over.

“Why? Is she the Regina George of Forks High or something?”

Shonda snorted.

“You watch too much T.V.”

Belén smiled, an embarrassed blush covering her cheeks.

“Well then? Why are you surprised? Rosalie seems nice.”

“Well, the thing is her family never talks to anyone, like, ever. They’re all very polite, but they don’t talk to anyone unless absolutely necessary.”

Belén snorted.

“Really? You make it sound like it’s a bad thing.”

“No. I mean, yeah they could be shy, but this is different.” They grabbed a tray each and moved down a line. Belén eyed the food. It didn’t look as bad as what the mo-oh wait, that looked both kinda alive and super dead. She should’ve grabbed the snacks from her locker.

“Different how?” she asked, settling for a slice of pizza. She was _so_ bringing her own food in the future.

Shonda remained silent, and when the latina looked up, she saw her sporting a deep frown.

“It’s weird; I don’t really know how to explain it.” She also went for the pizza. “But trust me, this is the first time I’ve seen Rosalie Hale make chit chat with someone other than her siblings. Alice and Emmett are nicer; I talked to him a few times last year when we were lab partners, but they’re very, um, reserved? I guess.”

Belén nodded, picking up a bottle of water.

“Well, Rosalie was just lovely, and so was Emmett. He’s pretty funny.”

“Yeah. Well, I’m glad you’re making friends,” she nudged her shoulder playfully. “Just don’t forget who broke the ice.”

“I won’t.” Belén laughed amicably, following her to a table near a window. Shonda motioned for her to take the last remaining seat while she took an extra chair from a table nearby.

Her butt hadn’t even touched the cold plastic when…

“Dude! Your eyes are so freaky!” 

“Oh my god, Jonathan! You’re such an asshole!” Amy shot back at the guy.

“What?!” the guy, Jonathan, held both hands up, his big brown eyes almost making him look like Gollum as they widened further. “They are.”

Belén didn’t know what to say really. She was used to people bringing attention to her mismatched eyes, but not blatantly stating how weird they were. She was more uncomfortable from being surrounded by strangers than upset by the comment.

“Yeah, but you’re not supposed to say it, idiot. You’re being fucking rude.” another girl said, playing around with a pack of cigarettes. “I’m Mai. Forgive Jonah, he’s a ginger.”

“Ha, ha. Very funny.” he looked at Belén again. “I’m sorry, I just can’t decide which eye to look at.”

Belén couldn’t help but laugh at this, while Shonda finally sat at her left, shaking her head.

“He means well, I promise.” she pointed at the second guy, sitting quietly watching the shitshow unfold. “And Ray, my little brother.”

Ray rolled his eyes.

“By five minutes, Shon. Get over it.”

“So, what were we talking about?” Shonda asked, playing deaf to her brother.

“How Jefferson hates me.”

“He doesn’t.”

“No, he does.” Mai contradicted her, trying to maintain a blank semblance.

Amy groaned and tried to bury her face into the table. Jonah patted her back.

“Don’t worry. He always picks on one person to single out. I think it’s more of a tradition than anything personal.”

“Like that makes it okay.” Ray said, pulling out a comic. 

“What about you, new girl?” Mai asked, turning her dark eyes on her. Despite the nickname, her tone was casual, like they were long acquainted. 

“Oh, I’m Belén.”

“Any teacher hating on you, Belén?”

She considered it for a moment.

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, the day’s not over.”Jonah smiled encouragely, to which Mai hid her face behind a silky curtain of jet black hair, as if that would hide her shaking shoulders.

“I’ll give it my best.”

“Oh, don’t be mean, you two.” Shonda spoke up, dismissing them with a wave of her small hand. “Belén’s quite popular already.” she added with a smug smile.

Everyone looked at her, and the latina could see a few heads from the nearby tables turning little by little, failing at subtlety.

“If you wish to extend your conversation, insert three coins.” Amy said, to which she shrugged at her friends. “What?”

“Out with it already, Shon, before you die or something.”

But Shonda looked at Belén first, to which she shrugged with some hesitance. She truly didn’t see what the issue was, so she didn’t care if Shonda told the others.

“She’s friends with Rosalie Hale now. I caught them talking, and get this, Hale was actually smiling. Like, a real one, teeth and all.”

Belén picked up her pizza and bit into it. Was that how animals at the zoo felt like? Eyes of different shapes and colours had settled on her frame, people at other tables not even bothering to try and dissimulate anymore.

“I think this pizza’s from today.” the latina commented, covering her mouth to speak.

“You’re friends with little miss Chandler?” Mai asked, ceasing to play around with the pack.

“I wouldn’t say ‘friends’. We shared one class and we talked a little.”

“So did we, sorta.” Shonda refuted, the words more factual than hurt. Belén smiled at her. “But that lot doesn’t talk to anyone. They’re like a little cult.”

Behind Ray, who had just spoken, a door opened and in walked three figures. A short girl who seemed to dance more than walk, a tall, blond guy, so stiff Belén couldn’t help but wonder if he was holding in the master of all farts or what; and a slightly shorter guy with a case of the giggles. Their paleness caught her eye, even from the distance. It reminded her of Rosalie’s and Emmett’s skin.

“Who’re the Calvin Klein models?”

Jonah rose a little in his seat to see better.

“Oh, those are the other Cullens.” he began explaining, turning to her with a gleam in his eyes. “Their dad works at the hospital, and I think their mom is an architect or something. Edward and Alice Cullen are Emmett’s younger siblings, just one year below us, and Jasper Hale is Rosalie’s twin.”

She assumed, with her limited view, that Jasper was the constipated one, which left the dark haired Tinkerbell as Alice and teen squidward as Edward.

“The cult thing, though…”Mai turned to Ray, intrigued by the idea.

“Are you serious?” Belén asked, her emotions swinging between amused and disbelieving. She wasn’t sure she liked where this was going.

“People look at them weird ‘cuz they’re together.” Amy said, only rising her head to take a sip from her juice and burying it again, hair fanning out. Belén gently pushed it away from her space.

“You mean…?”

Jonah made a wide variety of obscene gestures in less than ten seconds.

“Oh yeah, there’s some weird Lannister type of shit going on in that house.”

“Stop trying to get us to watch that show, Jonah. It’s not gonna happen.” Mai snapped.

“I can give you my HBO password?”

Ray seemed to consider it before shrugging and going back to his comic.

“No.” she persisted.

“I don’t think it's fair, Jonah. They’re not related by blood.” Shonda spoke, looking nonetheless like someone who just tasted a french fry coated in merengue for the first time.

“But they’re legally siblings as far as we know, which is weird.”

“Wait, who’s with who?” Belén asked, palms up. She needed a time out. Her day was already weird enough without the Ptolomey line a few tables away.

“Alice is with Jasper, Rosalie with Emmett.” Ray said dully, closing the comic and passing it to Jonah. 

She deflated. Rosalie and Emmett were together?

She wasn’t sure which part disconcerted her more. Rosalie being with Emmett, or Emmett being with Rosalie. It made sense, she supposed, in a way. He seemed to be a sweetheart beneath that Juggernaut appearance; he was funny and attentive. Rosalie was smart, witty and kind. Not to mention, they were both super hot. Not that she’d said so out loud.

That part about them sharing a house was odd, she’d admit.

The gorgeous couple walked in at that moment hand in hand, talking quietly to each other. God, they looked so good together. It actually made sense.

Belén bit her lower lip to hold back a groan of dismay. What was wrong with her? She was fairly quick to develop crushes, but they were light and brief, gone from her mind only minutes later as she found something more interesting to fuss over.

She stared at Emmett, then Rosalie, then at Emmett and then at Rosalie again. She couldn’t decide which one she liked better. Had they been single, she still wouldn’t know which to pick.

_Not that they’d be interested in the likes of me._

Belén knew she was pretty, but those two were on a whole other level, one she hadn’t known existed until she met them.

They arrived at the table with their siblings, and as if Emmett weren’t already hot enough, he pulled back Rosalie’s chair and pushed it back in as she sat, taking the seat next to her. She looked in her direction and made eye contact with Belén.

_Good god._

She looked away immediately, hoping they hadn’t realized she was oogling them. What if they knew she liked them both?

God she was such a slut sometimes. Her friends from back home wouldn’t let her hear the end of it.

“Don’t worry.” Ray said, his voice soft as to not draw attention to them. The rest of the group, Belén realized, were busy having a debate over a t.v show she wasn’t sure she had heard about before. “They have that effect on people. It’s kinda weird, but it’ll probably pass.”

“Probably?” she asked in a high pitched whisper.

Ray smiled and rose from his seat, waving at a bunch of guys wearing matching sports jackets.

“I guess.” he looked down once more, his gaze gentler. “Nice meeting you, Belén.”

“Yeah, you too.”

As he left, she followed him with her mismatched eyes. He greeted his friends and then moved out towards the exit, clearing her field. The Cullen table was left on full display, so she focused back on her lunch companions.

“It’s a good show!”

“It’s been going on forever, Mai, they ran out of ideas.”

“They didn’t!”

“They did!”

“You don’t even watch it, so how could you know?”

Belén bit into her pizza. So far, the scene unfolding in front of her eyes was the most familiar thing she had witnessed since moving to that town.

* * *

She had enrolled in the class, and it was written on her printed schedule, and yet, even as she walked into the room and towards the teacher’s desk, she still couldn’t believe she was in a real subject that would give her credits to graduate.

She had nothing against cosmetology; she wore make up like a lot of other people and she liked it. It just wasn’t a subject back home. You could study it as a profession, of course, but it wasn’t a single subject offered by a regular high school.

She was both a tiny bit amused and excited as she sat down and waited. Girls filed into the class. Figures boys wouldn’t want to join in.

She stiffened and looked straight ahead as Rosalie walked in like it was a fashion show, her stride making supermodels look like amateurs. 

Her eyes set on the girl taking a seat at Belén’s right, who shook anxiously as she got up once again and left. The blond pushed her hair behind her shoulder and made herself comfortable, as if nothing had happened.

_Hot._

“Hey.”

Her face changed drastically as she looked over at Belén. She softened so much it was like her face morphed into something completely different.

“Hey, you. I hope you don’t mind it if I stick by your side.”

“Not, not at all.” she actually did mind. That girl made her nervous in a way she wasn’t sure she liked.

Well, she did like it, she just didn’t want it, thank you very much.

“Great! I think we might get to facial massage techniques before the class ends, and I’m very picky about whose face I put my hands on.”

Belén giggled, trying to hide her panic. Facial massage? Picky hands? She didn’t have the best skin; her mild acne was hidden by make-up, which she had bought with her oily face in mind.

Rosalie was in for a surprise if she thought Belén had good skin. She began to feel self conscious. Was her face dripping sweat? She hoped not.

She spent the entire class with her stomach in knots, thanking the heavens for not eating anything besides that one slice of pizza. Her hands were sweating. Shit. Her whole body was sweating.

Next to her, Rosalie shifted in her seat every now and then, clearly uncomfortable with something. Was Belén starting to smell too or something? She had put on deodorant and some perfume, but she supposed they weren’t magical. Amazing. She was sitting next to the most gorgeous girl she’d ever seen and she probably smelled like a sewer.

She wasn’t the best person on the planet, but oh god, what had she ever done to deserve all that crap? 

Rosalie leaned in and opened her mouth. Belén almost turned to her, but at the last moment, the blond seemed to reconsider and leaned back once more.

The bell rang. With shaky hands, Belén picked up her things and stood on jelly legs. She barely dared to look at Rosalie.

“Well, uh, I um, I gotta go. Don’t wanna be late for class.”

“Do you need help findi-”

“Nah, I’m cool. Okthanksbye.”

_Fuck manners._

She almost ran out, pushing through a small group at the door, her breaths quick and her calves burning.

God, she was so stupid. Why did she get so worked up over a small comment? It was practically a compliment, albeit an odd one at that. Rosalie allegedly didn’t talk to anyone, yet she had been nothing but nice to Belén. How could she be friends with that girl if the simplest of comments made her sick and run for the hills?

She wanted to turn back and beg forgiveness, which was probably even worse, she contemplated, a vivid image of herself on her knees and her hands up in prayer as she all but whined to Rosalie for mercy taking over her thoughts.

It had been so stupid. She probably wouldn’t want to talk to Belén again the next day, or ever.

She sighed in misery, entering the classroom. She had decided to take spanish. With how long her days were going to be in that place, lunch wouldn’t be a long enough time to rest her brain, so spanish was a good option for that. She could put her head down and ignore the struggling teens.

“You must be the new student.” the teacher said, a gigantic smile on her face.

“Yup. I have this for you.” Belén gave her the slip and Mrs.Groff took it, her eyes skimming through it before putting it down on her desk to sign.

“You’re from South America, right?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Argentina, was it?”

“No, ma’am, ac-”

“Brazil?”

“Right in between.”

“Paraguay?”

The girl snorted.

“Everyone knows that place doesn’t exist.”

Mrs.Groff laughed, eyes shining with recognition.

“You’re from Uruguay then.”

“I am.”

The woman switched languages then:

“Alright, I mainly teach spanish from Spain, but it’ll be nice to have a native. It will be great to help your classmates practice.” she smiled and switched languages again. “I can’t wait.”

_Fuck me._

“Great!” her grin was as fake as Moria Casán’s face

“Mina, hey!”

The teacher handed her slip back, and Belén raised her eyes in time to see Emmett Cullen walk into the class, looking all happy and sweet.

So much for resting her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I had to write some finals for college and after that my brain was as dry as a desert and I just didn’t have the mental energy to even revise the chapter.  
> I’m also trying this thing where i write ahead, so I wanted to have chapter 4 done before posting this second half. Now that these introductions are done, the next few chapters should be shorter.  
> Thank you so much for reading and all the support for the story! And again, I’m so sorry for the long wait.  
> Hope you enjoyed it :D


	5. Is this progress?

Chapter 4: Is this progress?

  
  


The next day at school was kinda similar to the first one. Belén hadn’t gotten as much sleep as the previous night, having stayed up late finishing her homework, but she didn’t let it get to her. Thursday was one day closer, which was truly something to look forward to since it was meant to be a long weekend, and then she’d be able to sleep all day. Usually, she wouldn’t be allowed such a thing, but mom couldn’t come back to berate her into stop being lazy and her dad wouldn’t notice if the girl from that horror movie with the well walked out through the t.v, let alone if his daughter induced herself into a day long coma. 

She yawned as she drank her café con leche and slowly chewed on her toast. Looking down, she noticed a lace from her sneakers had come undone. 

“Pst, Usagi.”

The cat, who had up until that moment been laying on the cold floor with no worries, looked up with sloth. Belén began to move her foot, quickly but lightly, from one side to the other. Her feline child caught up to it almost immediately, following the movements with avid eyes as she smoothly stood up and crouched, tail up and butt moving in swift, short motions.

She jumped and Belén moved her foot back, chuckling as the cat stretched her paw and tried to get the lace. She stretched her leg out and up, ignoring the uncomfortable position with ease as the cat looked up with big eyes and meowed.

Her dad walked in, greeting her in a low voice and setting himself to the task of making some coffee.

“How was school?” he asked.

Belén took a moment before answering, letting Usagi catch the lace with her paw and take it to her biters.

He had already asked that twice the previous day; once as she accidentally slammed the door shut with too much strength; then again during dinner. She had made ham and cheese empanadas because it seemed the easiest option.

“Fine. Everyone's nice.” she cleared her throat and licked the milk off her upper lip before adding some new information. “Uh, the secretary said the principal wanted to see me, but uh, he didn’t have time yesterday so he’ll probably call for me today.”

She hadn’t done anything, and the other one time she had been called into the principal’s office was back in fourth grade when a boy made one of her friends cry. Belén had backed up her friend's story, saying she hadn’t done anything.

“He pushed her on purpose, I saw it, I swear, really.” she had said, eyeing her friend’s bandaged hands, and her bloodied white tunic. It wasn’t the first time he bothered her, but it was the first she had actually gotten physically hurt. He had it out for her for some reason. Sweet Estefanía never messed with anyone, never talked back and didn’t have it in her to step on ants. The boy claimed otherwise, he said it was an accident, and everyone believed him. 

Estefanía let it pass, but Belén gave him the stink eye up until her last moment in that country.

Just like that other time, her dad didn’t seem worried about the matter. At the moment he sat on the table across from her, legs spread out, elbows on his knees, looking down at the dark liquid on his mug.

“Don’t worry about it, Bele. He and Tata were good friends, so he probably wants to meet you and talk about him a bit.” he took a big sip and she raised her eyebrows. Surely he had just burnt his throat and tongue. “Be nice, okay, mija?”

“Yeah. Of course.”

He hummed and went back to his new, usual self. The atmosphere damped again, a heaviness sinking slowly, gently, like a thick blanket of water.

“Alright, well, uh, um,” she drowned most of the milk, leaving out the bottom. That part made her want to puke, and before, she would always wait till her parents were distracted before throwing it down the drain and washing the mug at lighting speed. “I’m gonna brush my teeth and leave, okay? Will you look after your grandchild?”

Thomas barely spared a glance at the cat, who had long since lost interest in the laces of the sneakers and was now licking her southern regions, leg up and paw spread.

_I keep forgetting to cut her nails._

“Cut her nails, please?”

He nodded and she smiled, pleased with herself. That would give him something to do besides feeding the animal, and luckily, it would take a little while. Also, it spared her of the task.

Feeling like The Brain, she walked out of the house with a lighter step.

* * *

On wednesday, just like on tuesday, Belén met with Shonda and Ray at the corner of her street, right across their home. The siblings waited against a tree, quietly talking among themselves.

“Hey, sorry.” the latina was out of breath as she stopped next to them and checked the time on her phone.

“You okay?” the Atkinson brother asked, looking her up in down with something that neared concern.

She waved it off. 

“Yeah, it was nothing.” she nodded to her right and they began walking in that direction. “I got a neighbor who’s got a dog, this cute rottweiler, you know?-”

“Mr. Finley.” the siblings spoke up at the same time, spooking their friend just a little bit.

“Yeah, and she got into this closet of his where he keeps all his fishing supplies and one of the fishing things, you know, the curvy one.” she made an U motion with a finger.

“The hook?” Shonda offered and Belén nodded.

“Yeah, it got to the dog’s ear and,-” she paused to take a breath as the siblings hissed, their faces contorting at the thought. Belén nodded again, she had the same reaction when she saw it. “so the dog kept crying so I went over and asked if everything was alright, and the guy showed me-”

“Showed you what?” Amy asked as she joined the group, rummaging through her backpack.

“The hook on his dog’s ear.” she supplied quickly. The pale brunette hissed and uttered a quiet “yikes” as Belén continued. “So I called dad and we helped him because he said he couldn’t afford a vet right now and his truck is at the mechanic’s anyways and it’s too far to walk the animal there.”

“It’s like a block before the Newton’s store, right?” Shonda asked her brother, who pondered for a moment before confirming.

“So my dad and I tended to her but we had to improvise cause he sold most of his equipment before the move and _that_ is why I’m late.”

She smiled, feeling revigorized not only by the cold air against her face, but from her previous activity. Nothing like helping out an animal in need to start a good day.

“Your dad’s a vet?” Amy asked.

“Yeah, he had a clinic back home. I helped him with it when he let me.”

“So, how’s the dog?” Ray asked as they stopped before the group of boarding teenagers. They managed to catch the bus after all.

Belén stopped behind Amy as they let another kid go in before them.

“She’ll be fine. The hook was really small so it was easy to get out and we cleaned the ear immediately. Dad said he was gonna check on her though, just in case.”

That was the best part; not that an animal had been hurt, but that her dad had seemed fully awake for the first time in weeks.

He had all but jumped out of the house, bolting through the doors as she ran back home yelling her lungs out in quick, barely understandable spanish at him to get his ass moving, and the mention of the hurting animal seemed to push him back into his sober, medical side.

It had been unusually hard for Belén to keep the dog calm. She couldn’t stop looking at him as he worked, his hands precise, efficient yet gentle as he carefully checked the ear before deciding to pull the hook out. All the while, he also calmed the worried owner.

He gave her a fast look at one point, his blue eyes, clear of any mist, a startling reminder to do her job, so she went back to caressing the dog and giving her soothing words, keeping her calm while he pulled the hook free in the blink of an eye and cleaned the small wound. It had looked so small after the damned thing was out.

The hook had been on the higher side of the flap, so luckily it didn’t come too close to any canal.

She looked down as she sat, noticing just a little bit of dog hair on her jeans. Her hands laid open, palms up, and even though they looked as usual, she felt like the world rested on them at the moment, and it was damn good feeling.

She couldn’t wait to see the dog, Gilly, again.

Smiling almost sincerely, she silently admired the grey panorama as the voices of multiple conversations kept her company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry late whatever-you-celebrate-if-you-celebrate! And Happy new year!!!!  
> I know it’s short, but I’ve been meaning to give you guys something before the year ends. The next chapter shouldn’t take long, promise.  
> So, we got a little bit of family dynamics and some more glimpses into B’s new friends. What do you think so far? I hope you like them, cause they’re gonna be here for (hopefully) a long time.  
> Thank you so much for reading and to all the people who post comments and hit the favorite/follow/kudos button. Holy shit there’s a lot of you.  
> Again, happy new year! I hope you all have a nice start to 2021 *insert heart emoji*  
> PS: There's a Bly Manor reference in this chapter. I couldn’t help it, I loved it so much.


	6. Maybe?

Chapter 5: Maybe?

  
  


On Monday, Belén arrived at her english class with plenty of time to spare.

During health class, Emmett, who had taken to sitting next to her and talking their ears off, had subtly asked about her and Rose, whom the latina had been acting weird around since the incident during their first cosmetology class. It was so stupid, and she couldn't fully understand why she had freaked out that way over something so small, no matter how intimidating Rosalie was.

Luckily, the class had started at that moment, saving her from having to think of an answer, so she spent the period looking ahead at the board and taking crappy notes. She was also one of the first ones out of the classroom, waving at Emmett and muttering something about ‘Andrés, who comes once a month’, as if that were enough to dissimulate her true intentions. She was also pretty sure he didn’t understand what she had meant. _‘Who' s Andrés?’_ he had asked, but she was already by the door.

Sitting down next to Rosalie, she couldn't help, as usual, the feeling of guilt. The blond had spent the rest of the week trying to get to know her, but Belén kept on shutting her down. Her crestfallen expression vanished as she walked in, replaced by a miniature, complaisant smile, but Belén managed to catch it fully, and it made her feel like a piece of shit.

"Hey." She leaned towards her and kissed her cheek. Rose nodded tightly for a second before replying with a murmur. "So, how did the long weekend treat you?"

She shrugged.

"It was alright." She said in a low voice, her pale fingers playing with the sleeves of her sweater. "We hiked, we came back home and played some board games." She paused for a moment, taking in the girl sitting to her right, and noticing Belén's attention still fully on her, her open posture and inviting expression, she uncertainly ventured further. "Alice and Edward won most of them, naturally. Emmett threw Edward across the room. Mom wasn't happy."

"The dent in the wall, right?"

Rosalie nodded.

"Emmett told you?"

The brunette chuckled.

"Oh yeah. Were they fighting or-?"

Rosalie shrugged.

"Only a little. Emmett can get rough sometimes." Her voice seemed to take a turn at that moment, acquiring a mischievous tone.

Belén felt her cheeks heating up at the thought.

She chastised herself.

 _"That's Rosalie's boyfriend_."

Right, like she had been thinking of Emmett and herself instead of Emmett and Rose.

_"I'm a pig. A filthy pig. God. There is worse than being an otaku after all, and I am it."_

"Ha, listen, I-" she opened her mouth, but no sound came out. What was she supposed to say? Apologize, first and foremost, of course; but that implied having to explain what exactly she was apologising for, and it was such a stupid thing. Belén felt even more stupid the more she thought about it. Maybe they could pretend like it never happened? Rosalie hadn't stopped talking to her, thankfully, but she did seem a bit more guarded since their first day.

Belén shook her head. That was one day only. Maybe this was regular Rosalie.

But then she looked at her hesitantly hopeful semblance and her conflict dissolved like salt on water. She was a dick, and she owed the girl an apology and an explanation. Rosalie was gonna think she was an idiot, but at least she'd be getting the truth, which was the least she deserved.

She had yet to talk. Rosalie waited patiently, her body language starting to relax. She was so open. Belén barely knew her, but she could already tell she didn't deserve her.

"I wanted to-"

"Alright class!"

_"¡Concha de tu madre!"_

She closed her eyes and counted to ten. It didn't help, probably because she kept on picturing herself yelling at the poor teacher to shut it and starting to pound her fists into the desk like a bratty child.

"I am sure all of you had a nice time with Wordsworth." He looked around the class. Belén couldn’t see the faces of her classmates, but it didn’t take a genius to guess they weren’t exactly enthusiastic. The man sighed. “We’re gonna do something. I’m sure all of you read it already, and even analyzed it, but I think it’d be interesting to do it together during these first minutes of class and discuss it together, okay?.” he clapped his hands. “So! Anyone wants to step to the front of the class and read for everyone?” nobody moved a single muscle. Nobody breathed. It reminded her of this book a friend of her mom’s had given her, where a group of teens stood all together while they were chosen to go to die in a messed up reality show. “Miss Hale?” the teacher all but pleaded. “You have a nice voice and pace. Would you mind?”

Rosalie smiled politely and took her book.

“Of course, Mr. Mason.”

Mr.Mason looked visibly grateful as she advanced towards the front, easily avoiding contact with the other desks. The blond girl stopped next to the teacher for a moment and showed her the open book, to which the man nodded once and pointed at a page, and then stepped aside to allow her space, leaning against the door and crossing his hands in front of him, attentive already.

Belén’s own eyes shifted to Rosalie as she casually leaned against Mr.Mason’s desk. She looked up then, topaz finding a mismatch. Belén gulped. Jesús. If burning from a glance were possible, she’d be on fire at that moment, but she couldn’t decide if that’d be good or not.

It also made her feel worse for her previous behavior.

 _“_ _She was a phantom of delight_

 _When first she gleam’d upon my sight;”_ Rosalie read, her soft words carrying over across the space with clarity. The brunette placed her crossed arms on top of the desk and leaned forward as she listened. Literature had not exactly been her best subject back home, but poetry was always her saving grace; she truly enjoyed it, even going as far as to bring with her a few small books about her favourite ones. Rosalie had a good pacing and tone, yes, but it was the emotion what caught Belén’s undivided attention. The blond girl remained unperturbed as she spoke the words from memory, like they had been engraved into her brain with fire, or as if she had written the piece with her own hand. Her eyes didn’t stray from Belén’s, but she wasn’t bothered by it. If anything, she wished she would continue forever. It was as if Rosalie were a sculptor, and Belén her clay, taking shape under her soft but blazing care. She might as well have been whispering the words in her ear. _“_ _A traveller between life and death;_

_The reason firm, the temperate will,_

_Endurance, foresight, strength, and skill;”_

Soon, perhaps even way too soon, her voice died down, and Belén exhaled, an intense warmth spreading all over her, making her heart race as much as she wanted to make her legs race towards the other girl.

 _“Good god.”_ she thought, swallowing hard.

She would gladly die in such fire if Rosalie Hale was the cause of it.

“Thank you, Miss Hale.”

She barely acknowledged the teacher as she returned back to her seat.

Belén broke eye contact and didn’t even look as Rosalie returned to her side.

She wasn’t sure what to feel and it annoyed her, but if one thing was for sure, was that she owed the poor girl an apology.

They sat in silence for the remaining of the class, a certain thickness in the air. The latina wanted to reach out and...she wasn’t so sure what she wanted to do, but she wanted to remain in Rosalie’s presence.

Belén shook her head as she doodled. She needed to rehearse her apology, but all she could think about was the weight of Rosalie’s words and her intense stare. Whatever the blond was trying to accomplish, it only made Belén freak out more.

She was probably imagining things anyway. Rosalie had a boyfriend, the brunette’s own crush was making her see things that weren’t there.

It was stupid how it stung, given how they had only known each other for a week, but then again she was always quick with her crushes.

Maybe it had something to do with the move and everything around it, from her mom to her dad, even to the change in weather. Yes. Everything was so different all of a sudden, everything felt like so much, so fast, she wasn’t too well in the head.

The bell rang and she cursed internally, standing up slower than usual.

Rosalie seemed almost surprised to see her still there with her.

“So, uh, wanna walk to the cafeteria with me?” 

The blond nodded and hurried to take her things, making a gesture with her hand. Belén walked ahead, feeling self conscious. She just knew Rosalie was staring at her.

They made it into the crowded hallway and headed for the stairs.

“Uh, so, like,” she cringed as she used the word, not having meant to. The antics of her new friends seemed to be taking root in her already. “I owe you an apology for last week.” she placed a strand of hair that had escaped her braid behind her ear. “I know I was pretty rude.” she forced herself to maintain eye-contact with the girl, who seemed to walk with lighter and lighter steps as they descended the stairs and made it out the door. “It wasn’t your fault or anything, I just, I guess I’ve been a bit on edge, or maybe I’ve been too sensitive, you know? And I freaked out over nothing an-”

“What did you freak out over?” she interrupted gently, tilting her head.

Belén cleared her throat and stared straight ahead. She shrugged. She didn’t want to tell Rosalie she had been the one to freak her out. It wasn’t the girl’s fault she got carried away so easily and spooked by something so small; and besides, she still wanted to be her friend, and that probably wouldn’t happen if she realized just how much of an imbecile she could be.

“Something silly, probably. I don’t really remember.” she spat out, shoving her hands into her pockets as she took a small deviation to her locker. She had remembered to bring her own lunch that day, but had stashed it away in her locker to avoid any temptations. “But I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to be such a dick, and then I felt too embarrassed to say sorry earlier.” 

The corners of Rosalie’s mouth lifted and her posture relaxed as she leaned against the other locker. 

“It’s alright. I didn’t even notice.”

Belén gave her a look.

“Yeah. Right.” She chuckled lightly, which alleviated the weight oppressing Belén’s heart for a few, precious seconds. “So, does this mean we’re good?”

Rosalie nodded and straightened up again, looking way too happy. She tried to tone it down, and the image was simply endearing for Belén.

“Of course we are.”

* * *

Belén’s hand came up to cover her mouth as she yawned. Stopping on the sidewalk, she looked around, her other hand keeping hold of Usagi’s leash.

She stood on the sidewalk of a small park, and despite the recent rain which had dampened the place and games, the place was full of children and parents. She supposed it made sense; if they were to wait only for the rain to stop and the place to dry before going out, they would never get anything done.

The cat kept on walking ahead, sniffing here and there. Belén followed her to a bench and forced herself not to think about how her jeans would look like once she stood back up again.

Usagi meowed and followed suit, taking a leap and landing on her owner’s lap. Looking around, the cat began to make herself comfortable, her paws massaging her new temporary seat.

Belén shivered as the cold hit the back of her neck and crossed her arms over her chest, hands tucked to keep them warm. Maybe she should look for her gloves once she got back home.

As Usagi finally laid down, the brunette sighed. She couldn’t remember when was the last time she played at a park. She had never been allowed to go often. Her parents were busy with work and didn’t want her going unsupervised, but in all honesty, she’d rather spend her own time at her dad’s clinic with all the animals than at the park.

She liked people, truly; she liked them well enough.

She just liked animals better. 

People were complex, and there was beauty in that, no doubt. It also made everything more interesting, and even riskier at times. 

At the end of the day though, after surviving another day out in the wild they dared call civilization, she preferred the simplicity of animals. They were so straightforward a lot of the time. They either liked you or they didn’t. You could win them over, but the moment you betrayed their precious trust you were done for. Win an animal’s love though, and you’d probably have it forever and unconditionally.

Belén envied their loyalty. How could they be so pure? The world,...People could be so cruel, and yet they were so resilient, so open to friendship and love.

She had seen many exceptions, of course. Unfortunately. Her dad tried to shield her from the darker side of his profession for as long as he could, and then, when she began to lose that innocence so characteristic of a child, he eased her into it with care. It broke her heart nonetheless, but it also made her love them even more. She always judged people by how they treated animals.

A purr and some movement caught her attention for a moment, and she looked down to see how Usagi got on her hind legs and pressed her belly and paws to Belén’s front. The cat laid her small head against the latina’s chest and wrapped her tail around herself.

Belén’s heart swelled with warmth and affection towards the sweet creature. Delicately, she leaned down and placed a soft kiss between her ears.

“Mommy, look!”

The girl looked up in time to see a blond girl stopping in front of her. Her long pigtails weren’t leveled, her cheeks were red from the cold and a grin lit up her pale face. The girl looked up, green eyes shimmering.

“Is it a girl or a boy?”

“A girl. Her name’s Usagi.”

“Can I pet her?”

“Sure, but go gentle.”

The girl nodded energetically and took a step closer. Belén felt the cat stir and move her head to look at the child, who slowly extended a hand for the feline to sniff. When she was ignored, she proceeded to scratch her behind her ears. Usagi straightened up, pushing against the kid’s hand.

“Mommy, look!”

“I am, Gigi.” a woman answered as she came to a stop behind the child. She had the same hair and eyes as her daughter, and gave Belén an apologetic smile. “I’m so sorry. She’s crazy for cats lately.”

“It’s okay; I don’t mind.”

The kid looked up at her mother.

“Can we get one?”

“Gigiiii…”

“Pleaaaaseee?”

The woman shook her head with fond exasperation. Belén felt a knot in her throat.

“We can’t keep adopting an animal every time you start obsessing over them. The house will become a zoo.”

“That’s awesome.”

The woman rolled her eyes.

“Say goodbye, Gigi. Leave the girl in peace.”

Gigi turned towards Belén, and the latter found it hard to smile back.

“Thanks, miss.”leaning closer, she whispered to Usagi. “Bye, princess.” she scratched her a bit more and gasped loudly when the cat leaned towards her and sniffed the tip of her nose.

The woman bid the teen farewell and took her daughter's hand as they walked away. Belén watched them go, realizing she also didn’t remember the last time she and her mother walked like that. She was probably no older than ten or eleven, and it was probably to cross a busy street only; god knew any maniac had a driver’s license in Montevideo.

She remembered having plenty of conversations like the one she had just witnessed. She had had a few birds, even a hamster, but her mom drew the line when a ten year old Belén began to ask for a ferret or a poni.

She huffed. Where the hell would they have had a pony in that small backyard was a mystery, but back then it made total sense to her to keep it in her bedroom.

 _“You’re just like your father.”_ Melissa would say, since Thomas usually encouraged his daughter into adopting animals.

She almost wondered what she’d think to see her and Thomas in that town, trying to make a new life, and didn’t even finish the thought before realizing she’d hate it. Not because they were trying to move on, but because Melissa had been too attached to her birthome to be able to stay away for long. The woman had gotten her degree as fast as possible and gone back home without a second thought, a lovestruck Thomas at her heels.

She thought it was romantic, how her dad was so willing to give up everything and follow her into another country, so different from his and so far away. The stories of his first cultural shocks always made her laugh until she cried or became dangerously close to wetting her pants; luckily, her dad was a good sport and knew how to laugh at himself. Her mom said it was one of her favourite things about him; his humour might be almost non-existent but it didn’t stop him from enjoying other people’s.

When was the last time she had heard one of those stories? Probably a little before her mom got really bad. She shuddered again, remembering the small, waiting frame on a white, stiff hospital bed that once was her strong, stubborn mother.

She looked down at herself, at her jean clad legs and the sweater and jacket that protected her midsection and wondered if one day she’d end up just like her? Consumed by an aggressive illness way before her time. She tried not to dwell too much on it, but at night, when everything laid still, she would wonder how her mom must’ve felt when she realized she wouldn’t get to fully enjoy her life, that she was being cut short out of the blue.

Belén swallowed and closed her eyes, pushing such thoughts away. It was no use to entertain those ideas; she couldn’t see the future and trying to guess or ponder would only serve to drive her mad (der).

She had other things to take care of, such as her grades and her dad.

Just remembering all that awaited upon returning to the house had her eyes and limbs growing heavy.

Gently, she sat up and moved Usagi.

“C’mon. Let’s go home.”

A meow was all the answer she got as they both stood and began the short walk back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, what did you guys think? We got some more Rosalie content this time. Are you liking her so far?  
> Don’t worry about Emmett, he’ll also have his moments to shine, promise.  
> You should just lay back and relax, cause it doesn’t matter how big Belén crushes might be, it’s going to be a while before anything actually happens. I want them to be friends first, but thinking on Rose and Emmett and the way their relationship was shown on the books from what I remember, it made sense to me that Belén would be quick to get all giddy over them. But i really want them to have a solid friendship first, I think it’s important, and besides, poor Belén’s got a lot going on, starting a relationship wouldn’t be a good idea.  
> So, I’ve been thinking about doing a few chapters from Rose’s and Emmett’s perspective here and there, give more insight into things like ‘why is Rosalie interacting with a human?’ or ‘what do the other family members think about everything?’ and other things, but what do you think? Is that something you’d like to read about?  
> Thank you for all the support, guys! 
> 
> PS: “Concha de tu madre.” translates as “Your mother 's cunt.” But “concha” cal also mean “seashell.” Yeah, I’m not about to bombard you with full lines in spanish or anything, but there’s no way around insults I think, so.  
> On the bright side, you may learn a new insult, so yay!


	7. It seems like it?

Chapter 6: It seems like it?

Rosalie threw her head back and laughed full heartedly as Belén continued to tell her the story.

"So I committed to the lie so much I even pretended like my dad had created me in a lab powerpuff girl style, but he accidentally gave me some dog traits instead of human so if I wanted to freak out a classmate I'd start barking at them."

The blond seemed on the verge of tears as they approached the parking lot. Belén could see her friends heading towards the bus; Shonda's eyes kept on scanning the space, so the brunette raised an arm and waved.

"Did it actually work?"

"I'm not sure." She shrugged, turning to the smiling girl. "But they were definitely scared of me, so they didn't question it. My dad thought it was hilarious, and he even gave me tips and encouraged me and all."

Rosalie bursted into more laughter at that.

Belén gave her a full-toothed smile. She remembered her mother not being too thrilled about it, but even Melissa had found some endearing amusement on seeing her husband coaching their daughter in animal behaviour.

_"Do I really have to pee to mark my territory? Everyone will see." She had asked one day during tea time. Well, it wasn’t really tea; she was drinking café con leche while her parents shared their mate over some biscuits._

_"No! Please never do that. I was just telling you about it." Thomas had looked momentarily terrified before his daughter shrugged in acceptance as if it made no difference to her._

She had been a weird kid. If she wasn’t trying to convince the other kids at school that she was made in a lab just like the powerpuff girls, with the substance X having been random animal DNA, then she was trying to convince them that she had invisible wings that only a special selected few could see, but even those people didn’t have wings themselves because only the princess of the fairies, like her own self, were allowed to. 

For that one, her dad snuck a small vial of pink and green glitter into the pockets of her Pikachu backpack that got all over her school’s tunic, hands, and even her hair, but it looked pretty anyways, more lively than the plain white dress she had to wear over her everyday clothes.

She also considered telling them of the time she went around telling people she was actually a time traveller, who came from a future where cats and crocodiles ruled the world in harmony, and that she was part of the crocodile emperor’s secret service.

She was definitely a weird kid, but at least it made the job of raising her interesting, or so her mom would say.

“What are you two talking about?” Emmet asked as he approached, smiling broadly, the stack of books in his arms looking miniscule. He looked excitedly from one girl to the other, like a child getting what they wanted for christmas.

“Oh, nothing, nothing.”

“Belén was telling me about how she convinced half her class that she was part animal.”

He raised his dark eyebrows. There was a glimmer in his eyes.

“Oh, really? Like a werewolf? I’ve heard about those a few times.”

Rosalie hit him in the chest lightly and clenched her jaw, while the brunette rolled her eyes.

“Part dog, actually. A siberian husky, to be precise. They're dramatic.”

“Nice.” he nodded slowly.

Rosalie’s shoulders kept on shaking as they descended the stairs, and Belén’s smile dropped slightly as she saw her bus leaving.

“Shit.” she uttered under her breath.

It looked like she’d have to walk home. Luckily, it wasn’t too far and she already knew the way; but she couldn’t help looking up at the darkening skies with small amounts of concern. It had been drizzling all day, but these clouds were almost black, warning of something bigger to come.

“What is it?” the amber-eyed girl looked in the direction of the entrance. “Don’t worry about it, I can drive you home.”

Belén’s mismatched eyes widened.

“No, no, really, there’s no need. It’s not far.”

“Nonsense.” her friend dismissed gently.

“Yeah, besides, it’s gonna get ugly soon.” Emmett added, nodding towards the ostentatious red car. That thing stood out like a sore thumb, and the brunette still couldn’t get used to it when she saw it in the middle of that modest, metal sea.

“Really, it’s not far. I-I wouldn’t want to intrude.”she stuttered the last part.

“It’s not intruding, Bele.”Almost tentatively, Rosalie made use of one of the nicknames that people back home used on Belén. She looked like someone testing a new meal for the first time, trying to decide whether she liked it or not. “We’d love to take you home.”

Belén was just a little taken aback by the casual line. Something fluttered in her stomach and she clutched her spanish book closer to her chest.

She decided to ignore the feeling, and pushed away the warmth that longed to surround her.

Finally, she moved her head up and down in agreement.

“Okay. Thank you.”

With a renewed, shiny smile, Rosalie took a step into Belén’s personal space and linked their arms together. With the other one she snatched the latina’s backpack out of her hands and effortlessly threw it at Emmett, who caught it with ease. She was impressed at Rose’s strength; that thing was full of books, to the brim and even though the blond girl seemed to be in shape, she didn’t really look particularly strong. Belén herself had barely been able to lift the backpack off the floor after mysteriously (with a lot of uttered curses and threats) shoving everything inside. There was a holiday coming up, so she was taking the opportunity to catch up with all of her classes.

One week never felt so insufficient in her life.

They headed towards the car, each of them on her sides.

Emmett slung her backpack over his shoulder along with his, seeming as unbothered by the extra weight as Rosalie. He then walked ahead of them and opened the backseat door for her.

“Mina.”

One of the corners of Belén’s mouth lifted.

“Oh, that’s the scout I’m supposed to be? You’re sure?”

He shrugged.

“Yeah, I think so.”

“I always thought I was more like Usagi, you know. She loves to eat and sleep and gets a new crush every few minutes.”

Rosalie tensed just the slightest bit next to her, but only for a moment. Belén thought nothing of it.

“Isn’t that your cat?”

“Well yeah, but we could both be her.”

“All of them love boys though.”

“Touché.” she conceded, sliding into the soft, pristine seat. How the hell did a teenager have a car so clean? Belén wasn’t really dirty, but her bedroom definitely looked lived in, as did her dad’s car. Rosalie’s looked like it had just been picked up from the dealership that day.

Emmett leaned down.

“Although, Mina’s all about love.” he extended the last word and dropped his voice in mock sensuality.

Belén laughed.

“Fine. She’s one of my favourites anyway.”

Happy with her acceptance, he placed the backpack next to her and gently closed the door. Through the tinted windows, the latina observed as he repeated the process with Rosalie, who got into the driver’s seat, before taking the passenger seat for himself. He moved it as far back as it went.

The blond looked at her through the rearview mirror.

“So, where to?”

She gave them the address, and in the next second Rosalie had pulled out of the parking lot with smooth and precise movements. Belén couldn’t help but notice how at ease she looked behind the wheel.

Emmett turned on his seat.

“So, got any plans for next week?”

She had only found out the previous day about Thanksgiving. She had only a notion of what it was (mostly from the movies), and despite having had not one but two history teachers in the family, she had never shown interest in the subject. There had to be more to it than a big meal if they were given a free week, although Amy had mentioned that not all schools had an entire week off. 

“Sleep.”she chuckled awkwardly before clearing her throat. “But maybe I’ll help dad to get started his new clinic.”

“Cool! He’s a doctor?”

“Animal doctor, yeah. The plan is to set up a clinic here or maybe in Port Angeles.”

She had already seen a place, just a few days prior, but she had been so busy with school and the house and taking care of Usagi and her dad that it kept on slipping from her mind. If she could get him up his middle-aged ass and working, she’d probably be able to rest a little better.

“I mean, we’re not gonna set up the clinic this week, but I’ve been planning on checking out some new places and getting the equipment and all the papers in orders.”

She couldn’t help but feel at least some excitement. The idea of helping out some animals again lifted her spirits. She missed doing it. She probably wouldn’t be able to do it with frequency, but it was still something to look forward to.

“Do you like animals?” Rose asked as she stepped on the gas to skip over a yellow light and turned right.

“I love them!” Belén sat straight, unconsciously leaning forward. “I’d adopt them all if I could.”

“Ah, nice.” she and Emmett shared a quick glance.

“You,...you _don’t_ like animals?” she asked slowly.

Could it be her crush on the eldest Cullens was finally about to end? It all depended on their answer.

Rosalie hurried to shake her head, golden hair moving softly along.

“No, no, of course we do. I mean, we can’t have pets or anything-”

“I love bears.” Emmett grinned from ear to ear. “Grizzlies.”

Belén’s heart almost burst out of her chest like in one of those cartoons she watched as a child.

“Bears are _amazing_! They’re so pretty but then: boom! They can toss you like a rag doll and kill you just like that.” she snapped her fingers.

Emmett pressed his lips together.

“Oh, you have no idea.”

“Jesus.” Rosalie muttered, coming to a stop and also turning on her seat.

Belén realized in that moment that this was the first time she was with both of them at the same time, and alone to top it all.

They were looking at her as if searching for something to say, and she was sure her own face mirrored theirs. They had arrived at her home, but she didn’t really want to say goodbye. A week without school didn’t sound so nice after all.

She would invite them in, but she still wasn’t feeling like introducing anyone to her zombie father.

“I-”

“So-”

“Ca-”

All three of them stopped to laugh nervously.

Belén, not really being able to choose who to look at, lowered her eyes.

“I should go in. Thank you for the ride, guys.” 

She leaned forward and kissed Rosalie’s cheek first, then Emmett’s. So far, they were the only people she did that with besides her own dad. They had initiated it during her first week at school, as a greeting and farewell, and Belén was so accustomed to the style of greeting she hadn’t realized that they were doing it at all till the end of the second week.

Their consideration made her appreciate them more, which in turn made her want to get over her crushes faster. They were so nice to her, she didn’t want to ruin this new friendship.

For a moment, she considered stopping to ask for their phone numbers or twitter, but decided against it. Was it too soon for that? What if they didn’t want to do that yet?

“I’ll see you at school.”

Belén stepped out of the car and closed the door gently. Walking up to the entrance, she was sure they were looking at her. It only made the butterflies harder to ignore, to know that they were waiting for her to go in before leaving.

She heard a ‘meow’ and turned to see Usagi walking towards her. She stopped to stretch lazily and kept on meowing.

“Hi, girl.” she leaned down to scratch her, and the cat leaned back on her hind legs, tail up and frizzled, and hissed. Belén stood up, hands up. She was baffled. “Che, it’s just me, it’s me.”

Usagi slowly returned to her previous position, but didn’t approach her owner as usual. Careful not to scare her, Belén got her keys out and unlocked the door, holding it so the cat could go inside first. After a moment of hesitation in front of her, Usagi rushed in.

_“Weird.”_

Turning around, she waved at the car, getting a brief honk back before it sped off, and closed the door.

Locking behind her, the girl sighed, shivering due to the warm interior of her new home. She heard laughing coming from the living room, and intrigued, ventured forward.

She stepped into a scene that only bewildered her slightly. Sitting on the armchair was a man she had never seen before; the other man, who sat on the couch with his back to her Belén recognized as Charlie, due to his police uniform and his grunt voice; but neither really captured her attention as much as the sight of her dad’s shoulders shaking in carefree laughter.

The sound provoked a wave of relief to flood over her almost violently in its wake.

She stood there, appreciating the moment, afraid to break it and find out it wasn’t real. 

The stranger sitting in the armchair noticed her and smiled, his face wrinkling.

“You must be the Belén I’ve heard so much about.” he said.

The girl shook her head, clearing her thoughts. Keeping an eye on her dad as he turned to look at her, she approached the trio. Remembering her misstep from the first day, she only kissed her dad’s cheek and nodded at Charlie briefly before nearing the new visitor.

“I don’t know if I should feel flattered or scared.” she said to him, offering him a hand. Was that a good way to introduce oneself to someone? She had seen it in some movies and on t.v but to her it felt distant and a little detached, like something better left for formal situations, and so far, not a single kid at school had offered her a handshake.

“A little bit of both.” he took her hand and shook it. His skin felt warm and rough, his smile was welcoming, and his dark eyes sparkled. “Nah, he’s only said great things about you. I’m Billy, an old friend of this one.” he said, dropping her cold hand and pointing at Thomas.

“Emphasis on ‘old’.” Thomas grunted, but Belén could detect the hints of a smile.

“Still look better than you, Williams.”

“E-excuse me for a moment.” 

Belén tried not to run to the kitchen, but she wasn’t sure if she succeeded. Setting her things down and all but tearing her jacket off, she washed her hands at lighting speed before going back to the living room, still looking from one man to the other, her gaze always lingering a little bit more on her dad.

He had stopped laughing and smiling, but he looked much more at ease than when they first arrived. Hell, Belén was sure he hadn’t been so well since mom died.

Thomas noticed her staring and gifted her with a small, brief but affectionate smile, which she returned thrice as big.

“So, Billy,” she began as she sat next to her dad, trying not to look like a weirdo. “Do you have any embarrassing stories about dad?”

He leaned back, intertwining his fingers over his stomach.

“Make yourself comfortable, kid. This is gonna take a while.”

* * *

“Do you recognize any of these?” the brunette asked, looking from the aisle to her dad, whose mouth hung slightly agape as his eyes moved from one brand to the other.

“No.”

“Mm.”

She took a step forward and took a random pot of dulce de leche. She twisted it in her hands, as if reading the information on the back would give her a clue as to its flavour.

She sighed.

“We could just take this one and try it.” she suggested. “We’ll push it to the back of the fridge and pretend it’s not there until it gets all sugary and disgusting if we don’t like it.”

Thomas almost smiled.

“Alright.”

Belén gingerly put the product on the cart and tried not to skip instead of walking like a regular person.

She almost couldn’t believe it when her dad agreed to go to the grocery store with her. Maybe it had been Charlie And Billy’s visit that cheered him up. She vaguely remembered the cop mentioning Billy and some others on their first day at Forks, when he mentioned a reunion with him and other men who Belén assumed were her dad’s childhood friends. A little bit after the pair had left, Thomas had also mentioned that she had actually spoken to Billy on the phone a few times as a child herself, before he and his friends finally got a hang of the internet and emails.

She remembered talking to him once, yes, but that was it. She didn’t remember what they could’ve talked about or what his voice sounded like, just that they did talk for a few minutes before her mom took over with an excited grin.

If his friends had cheered him up so, then Belén would have to be insistent on going over to the Black residence soon, like Billy suggested before leaving them. She still wanted to thank everyone personally for getting the house ready, and the longer they took, the more the shame for not doing so grew on her and threatened to eat her. Soon, she’d feel enough embarrassment to try and jump off a cliff for being so rude.

A small jap tried to ruin her happiness, and a vicious whisper made its way across the fields of her mind, telling her that Thomas wasn’t getting better because of her, that she wasn’t enough of a motivation on her own. He’d rather try for friends he hadn’t seen in twenty years than for his only child.

She pushed the voice away with matching sharpness and ignored the hurt, forcing herself to feel happy. At least he was walking around and talking to her, and she’d be damned if she didn’t seize the opportunity. Maybe, if she tried hard enough, she could keep him up until he was truly better.

“So, you know this new friend I told you about? Shonda?”

“The one who lives down our street?”

She nodded, far too pleased to find he remembered such basic detail. It wasn’t pathetic to be glad for something like that. _It wasn’t._

“Yeah. So, we went for a walk a few days ago and we saw this place for sale.” they came to a stop and she reached up for the toilet paper. “I don’t know how much it’s for, but it’s on a great spot, so I thought maybe you’d want to see it.”

They couldn’t, naturally, live off the air, and Thomas' plan had always been to open up a clinic in the small town, or maybe even try on Port Angeles. He seemed to have forgotten about that though, in the three weeks they had been there. She couldn’t count on him going all the way to Port Angeles to check out possible places, but she’d annoy him to death with buying that place she and Shonda had seen. She was gonna make him get back to work or she was gonna make him get back to work.

Besides, setting his mind into something he loved would surely distract him from the self-pity parade.

_“I shouldn’t be so mean.”_

“Uh.” was all he said.

She pursed her lips.

“I can show you the place once we leave.”

“Yeah, or we can go tomorrow.”

“I will show you today.” she said firmly, thightly, silently daring him to refuse again. She would throw the mother of all telenovela scenes if he did.

_“Soraya Montenegro’s got nothing on me.”_

He sighed and closed his eyes, clearly defeated.

“Alright. Alright.” he then gave her a sideways glance. “You know, you can be scary.”

“Bullshit.”

He smiled at her and she leaned against his side, taking hold of his arm.

A small flicker of hope quivered inside of her, fragile like butterfly wings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked this one
> 
> The next chapter isn’t ready yet, but it’s turning out a bit long and I didn't want to leave you hanging.
> 
> What did you think of the Rose/Emmett content? This is the first time they’re all together at the same time :) yayyy!
> 
> I know there was barely anything with Billy, but if you like him don’t worry cause you’ll see some more of him.
> 
> BTW, the word ‘che’ is used in a similar manner as ‘hey’. Some definitions suggest it can be used as ‘dude’ or ‘pal’ and other diminutives of the sort, but in this context it’s just ‘hey’.
> 
> So, I think that’s all. Once more, thank you so much for all the support, and let me know what you think :)
> 
> Have a nice week, people!


	8. LMAO, as if

Chapter 7: LMAO, as if

  
  


_“I measure every Grief I meet_

_With narrow, probing, eyes –_

_I wonder if It weighs like Mine –_

_Or has an Easier size._

_I wonder if They bore it long –_

_Or did it just begin –_

_I could not tell the Date of Mine –_

_It feels so old a pain –”_

I measure every Grief I meet, by E.Dickinson.

She did drag her dad to the place she had told him about. The owner was moving out of town and wanted to be rid of it preferably before that, and as her dad and the man talked about the details and negotiated casually, she took a good look around.

It was a decent spot. Shonda, who had lived in Forks her whole life and knew practically everyone, had told her that even though she didn’t really know the owner of the place, he had a reputation for being honest and very polished, and it showed. It wasn’t a perfect place, but it was well taken care of and clean. He said he had fixed up some minor things for the sale; she knew her dad would respect that.

The front room was spacious and the wall where the door was located had big windows that covered three quarters of the space. Standing there, she pretended she was walking in for the first time and already decided that there had to be a big, wooden desk right in front of her. There was a door frame and a wooden door two meters to its left. Through the frame she stepped into another room, considerably smaller but with enough space for her dad’s equipment. She could see herself helping vaccinate dogs and cats there. There was another inconspicuous door, where they could keep the animals after a surgery or the cubs people dropped off to be put up for adoption (she wasn’t sure if people did that in that country; she’d have to ask Shonda). Going back to the front and opening the door, she went through a thin, short hallway. To the right there was a door where they could keep the food that wouldn’t make it into the display, and the door at the back was just a small bathroom.

It was a simple place, slightly bigger than her dad’s clinic back home, and she had to admit she liked it.

Maybe she was getting ahead of herself, but she could easily see this place becoming her favourite one in their new home.

When Belén returned to her dad, she was all but buzzing. 

“We’re gonna need a lot of shelves.” she said, sounding like she was near to explode. 

Thomas nodded, eyes travelling around. The man, who had introduced himself as Andrew, did the same.

“It’s a nice spot. A lot of traffic.”

The girl took a look out the window and saw only a middle aged lady opening up her beauty salon, but to be fair, it was pretty early still.

Thomas turned to his daughter, who looked up with big, puppy eyes and clasped her hands together under her chin.

“Please, pa, this is the place.”

He put his hands on his hips.

“You know, with school and all, there won’t be a lot of time for you to help around.”

“It’s better than nothing.”

Besides, it wasn’t as if she hadn’t learnt to stay away from the clinic. When her mom got worse and her school schedule went from the mornings to the afternoons, she had to accept that she was a mere human who couldn’t handle everything.

She almost snorted as she thought of where she was now and how much coffee she had drank that specific morning, wanting to be awake enough to make sure her dad didn’t struck a stupid deal. Her face felt heavy, and she wondered internally if using an entire tube of concealer did that or maybe she was simply losing it.

“It’s a cool place, pa. Nice spot, and your other option is going all the way to Port Angeles.”

As far as she recalled, Port Angeles wasn’t that far, but having to travel everyday could be tiring, even in the comfort of one’s car. Besides, her dad had always preferred to be relatively close to home, in case anything happened. It was a Melissa thing that had rubbed off on him.

“Your kid makes a good point.” Andrew waved a finger in her direction. “So, what do you say? I can get the papers started real fast. I’m already giving it to you cheaper.”

But Thomas kept his blue eyes on his daughter’s eager, hopeful semblance. He smiled at her, genuinely, like had smiled at Billy Black and Charlie Swan just a few days prior and her heart spread its wings, ready to soar.

“Alright. Guess we have a deal.”

Belén squealed excitedly, partly due to the family’s new business, but mostly because her dad was back to normal.

She was sure he’d be fine this time around.

* * *

As many other times she wouldn’t talk about out loud, she was wrong.

The thanksgiving week passed in a slow blur. With great effort, Belén caught up on her homework and deep cleaned the entire house. She got her dad to buy a dryer after reminding them that they weren’t back in Uruguay anymore, and they couldn’t rely on the late spring sun to dry their clothes. She still didn’t like going into the basement. It was the first time she lived in a house with one (“More stairs!,” she had exclaimed, looking as enthusiastic as Professor Snape whenever he had to do his job) and besides, she had watched one too many horror movies to know it was a bad idea to go in there at all unless she was the main character, which she seriously doubted. 

She had even spent some time with her new friends at Shonda’s and Ray’s house. She met their parents only briefly, in passing really, but they were kind and welcoming. She hadn’t seen much of them since. Shonda had told her they were physical therapists and they worked at the local hospital mostly, but also had a few private patients.

Jonah and Amy joined them on wednesday.

“My mom’s a nightmare this time of year.” The pale brunette had informed them as a way of greeting dropping a big bag of doritos and a dvd on the carpeted floor and laying back heavily on the black haired girl’s bed.

“No offense, Ames,” said Ray from his spot on the floor, opening the bag and grabbing a fistful of doritos. “but your mom is always a nightmare; it’s not just the holidays.”

Jonah, seated also on the floor, his back against the side of the bed, snorted into his soda and started to cough. Sitting right behind him, wrapped in her friend’s purple comforter, Belén just watched him curiously and made no attempt to help him.

Shonda, taking up most of the space, back against her headboard with her legs stretched out, looked up from her phone, which she had been smiling at like a lovesick fool for almost five whole minutes.

“You okay there? Raise your arms, Jonah. Belu, pat his back.”

“Nah. I wanna see how long it takes his face to match his hair.”

The ginger boy gave her a loathful look and tried to utter something. _“Bitch”_ it sounded like.

“Yeah, but she’s even worse during the holidays. Even breathing annoys her.” Amy put a pillow over her face. “Mai’s coming?”

“She’s in Seattle with her grandparents.”

Everyone turned towards the latina, who was genuinely confused.

“What?”

“How do _you_ know?” Ray asked.

“Uh, nothing.” Shonda said at the same time as her brother, her voice shallow and low, as she slowly leaned back into her previous position.

“We kinda thought she hated you.” Amy said, moving the pillow enough to reveal one green eye.

“What? Why?” Belén’s eyebrows almost touched.

Ray shrugged and cracked open a soda.

“Mai doesn’t like a lot of people. Hell, she doesn't like _us_ most of the time.”

“That’s not true.” his sister refuted, seeming ready to defend her absent friend.

“Yeah,” Jonah agreed with her, finally regaining composure. “Besides, when Mai really doesn’t like someone, she makes it pretty obvious.”

Ray was the first one to catch whatever Jonah meant and he laughed quietly, cleaning off his hands on his jeans (much to the girls’ disgust) before standing up and walking towards the shelf full of movies.

“Che, ‘pera*, what am I missing?” Belén asked, suddenly a bit nervous.

Sure, she was only starting to feel comfortable around the group, especially Shonda and Jonah, but the possibility of having pissed off Mai made her nervous. She liked the absent girl so far; she was straightforward, and her acid sense of humor was great, and she didn’t bother too much with gossip. Besides, Mai had a sort of rebel air about her; she felt like the cool kid, and it was a badassery boost to whoever was around her.

Belén sighed. She could only dream of being like that.

“Nothing; don’t worry.” Jonah reassured her, running a hand through his hair, smiling up kindly for once. “It just takes her longer to open up. Mai’s always been kinda private, but I think she’s warming up.”

“So,”Ray caught their attention, seeming over the subject at hand. He stood up with agility and approached the dvd player. “We have to pick one: Amy bought _‘The Unborn’_ . Nice! Jonah’s pffft,” the boy gave his friend an unimpressed look. “ _‘Jennifer’s body_.’ ”

“It’s a cool movie!” he defended. “It’s like _‘Mean Girls’_ but with cannibal demons. Besides,” he turned to Belén and wiggled his eyebrows. “Amanda and Megan make out in one scene.”

She giggled uncomfortably at that. Girls kissing. _Girls kissing._ She had an idea of what it might spark into her stupid brain, but she wasn’t about to find out.

“So?” she asked, avoiding eye contact.

His smile fell apart slowly.

“Uh, nothing, nothing.” he turned to the front, his back to her. “Nevermind.”

Had Emmett and Rose watched that movie?

_‘Shut up!’_

“There’s also Gladiator.” he smiled, waving the dvd around. Nobody cared. He rolled his eyes. “Fine. Y’all don’t have taste, man. _‘The Vampire’s Assistant’_? What is this crap?”

Shonda shrugged.

“I think it’s a comedy or something. I don’t know. It was the most promising of the lot.”

“What a lot.” her brother mumbled, dragging the words and dodging a pillow. 

Jonah held up an arm, a green can in his hand. Belén took it and uttered her gratitudes. Ever since she told him she had no idea who Dr.Pepper was, he became determined in making her taste all types of beverages.

The brunette frowned, noticing a dark mark on his pale wrist. 

“And our new guest picked: _‘2012_ ’? Seriously?” he looked at her as if she had just confessed to believe the earth to be flat.

“It was either that, _‘Black Swan’_ or _‘Insidious’_.” Belén took a sip from Jonah’s soda and made a face. She didn’t know what it was, but she never wanted to see it again. “I picked that just so we can prepare. It’s only one more year, after all.”

“I’m the only one with good taste in here.” Ray shook his head.

“Shut up.” was the multivoice answer he got.

After that, it took them half an hour to agree on which movie to watch first.

* * *

The rest of the week went by smoothly. Thomas seemed to be more uplifted, and he was out of the house on several occasions, getting everything in order so he could continue doing his job in Forks. 

Belén still did everything at home on her own. She was slowly getting used to it; it still tired her to her bones, but she was learning to live with that. Before, her parents would divide all the chores, leaving to her the easiest ones, but even though she wanted to push her dad back into that, she was afraid it’d be too much for him and he’d retreat back into the dark corners of his mind, so instead she learned to push through.

She knew she wasn’t the only girl in the world in a similar position; she could definitely suck it up.

Yeah.

She visited Mr.Finley on saturday, and after talking to the lonely old man for a couple of minutes, offered to walk his dog for him.

He was almost too glad to accept.

“This weather doesn’t do any favours to my bones.” he had said as Belén walked out of the house, her hands holding the rottewiller’s leash in a firm grip.

Gilly was a good girl. Calmly, she stayed by the ttenager’s side as they strolled mindlessly. 

There was some movement on the streets, enough that, if she were to close her eyes and ignore the clarity of day, she might convince herself she was in a city, maye back home.

However, she could hear a couple of women walking in the opposite direction, and their language alone was enough to abruptly kick her out of her fantasy.

When was the last time she spoke her own language, to someone who was as fluent in its peculiarities as she was? Class didn’t count, and as great as Mrs.Groff was, she hadn’t been lying when she said she studied in Spain. Her dad didn’t really count, since he spoke whatever came to his mind; he’d start a sentence in spanish and finish it in english, and she didn’t mind it, really, but she still missed being solely surrounded by rioplatenses.

She really missed her friends. Florencia and Agustina were getting on her nerves with their demands of a video chat. She wanted to, but if she did, she’d fall apart, and Belén feared she might be running out of glue.

 _“Maybe I should go to therapy again.”_ she thought, only to remember that she didn’t know the details of how one could get help in that country, and that she didn’t have her mom’s friends a phone call away to hook her up with a good doctor.

Suddenly, she stopped, tilted her head, and let out a small “Uh” as she read the wooden sign. It spelled _‘Fork’s Cemetery’_ with big, white letters.

She got an idea.

Looking around, she spotted a small flower shop across the street.

“C’mon, Gilly, c’mon.” she gently yet excitedly urged the dog, who was more than happy to trot after her.

She had a twenty in her back pocket, which was enough to buy a few carnations.

Gilly and her walked into the cemetery slowly. She was looking around, looking for anyone who worked there.

She saw an old man talking to a middle aged woman. He was wearing grey overalls and had a bucket at his feet. He saw her approaching.

“Hey, hi, can she come in with me?” the teen asked, nodding to the dog.

The man nodded and waved her off, missing her quick, grateful smile.

It wasn’t until she was halfway down the main road that she realized she should’ve asked him if he knew where the Williams were buried.

To the left, there seemed to be a small lot, mostly composed of smaller graves, so she took the right and minded her step.

Gilly kept on smelling everything with avid curiosity.

The girl thought she spotted a ‘W’ on a stone, so she hurried over and crouched on the damp grass. Placing the flowers down, she rubbed the stone witht the sleeve of her parka and squinted her eyes.

_‘David Williams_

_07/07/1935 -03/05/2004’_

To the right, there was another tombstone, which Belén rubbed harder to read:

_‘Jillian Williams_

_01/30/1931-08/19/2002’_

Belén slumped, staring at the names, at the dates, at the dirty stones in general.

It wasn’t a surprise that they were so unkept, but it still broke her heart, as did the absence of flowers.

She wondered if her mom’s and tata Jorge’s tombs were the same, and a chill seemed to fly past her very heart, terrorizing her.

With trembling hands, still not letting go of Gilly, she took the flowers and placed a small bouquet on each tomb.

“Hi, tata and yaya,” she began, her voice trembling. Kindly, she pushed GIlly’s sniffing face away from hers. “I don’t know if you guys would recognize me if you saw me today, but uh, it’s me, little Belu. I did stay kinda little, not that I was given much to work with.” she half laughed before going silent. What could she say? ‘I’m sorry we couldn’t make it to the funeral’? No. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t come to see you sooner?’ Maybe. It wasn’t like they could hear her; she knew they wouldn’t know that she had been there at all, yet she found some comfort, some company one could venture to say, in talking to the names in the stone.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner; I- like, it didn’t occur to me that there was a cemetery here. I mean, I imagined there was one, but I never thought about it.” she ended up looking down at her hands, and noticed a small cut on one of her gloves. “I’m sorry that dad isn’t with me, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to bring him here. He always felt guilty for not coming over to say goodbye, and he’s not very well since we sold the old house.”

Gilly laid on the grass, placing her head on the girl’s lap. Belén scratched her behind her ears.

She was glad she wasn’t doing this alone, after all.

“Uh, I promise I’ll come back in a few days and clean this up for you. I know how tidy you guys were.”

What should she do now? Tell them about school? Her new friends? Her old ones who she missed?

Should she talk about mom?

“We moved here because mom died, you know.” she rushed to say, focusing on her yaya’s name. As a child, she had had a hard time pronouncing it; it sounded funny on her tongue, but so did her own name in her grandparents’. “I think we were doing kinda fine, but then dad woke up one day saying we were moving her. I thought he was joking but, here I am, so…”she laughed spiritlessly. “Uh, I think it was guilt, to be honest. He wanted to move back here as soon as mom was diagnosed, but we didn’t because she said it wouldn’t make a difference and that medicine is like, far more expensive here so, plus with the move and all and-” she stopped and sighed. “So I think the guilt didn’t let him live there anymore and-” she choked, and as frantically as she looked around, she couldn’t see anything with all those tears in the way. “I’m sorry, I’m just,...I’m _so_ lonely.”

A sob shook her and made her bend over. It was like there was something inside of her, something ugly that she wanted to expel, but it wouldn’t leave her.

She didn’t want that feeling; she wanted it out as much as she wanted to go back home, but it clung to her with immense strength, digging deep into her, as if it were using nails and teeth, and infecting her with a poison that wouldn’t kill her, but it’d make her wish it had.

It was like there was a hand, closing around her heart and squeezing it enough to cause her pain, and then its hold over her heart expanded over her lungs, up above her ribcage and pressed down, as if testing for how much pressure was needed to break the bones and pierce the organs beneath.

 _‘I’m so alone.’_ she thought, clinging to the dog for dear life. _‘I don’t wanna.’_

Gilly seemed to cry with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *“Che” is basically an equivalent to “Hey”.
> 
> “ ‘pera” is short for ‘espera’ which means ‘wait’. Pretty often people will also use ‘para’ instead, which means ‘stop’ (or ‘for’, but in a completely different context) and it's used as ‘hold up’ or ‘wait’. It’s all the same thing, really. There’s no difference.
> 
> I got the poem from: poets.org. I think its fitting not only for Belén herself, but for some things that are yet to come for others and now i'm rambling and ill end up spoiling the story so ill shut up.
> 
> Ive had this chapter finished for over a week i think (idk about time. Yesterday was 2019 for me), but I’m sorry, I just couldn’t get myself to revise it and publish it. I haven’t been feeling too good. I did start the next one, however. It follows Emmett and you guys will get a glimpse at how its been for him and Rose (the rest of the family too) to find out about Belén’s existence. It will probably feature some needed bonding time between him and B as well.
> 
> Whatever. this note is too long. Thank you for reading and all the support. No, I won’t stop saying. It’s true; im super grateful and ill remind you of it all the time so suck it up, people.
> 
> Hope you’re all having a great week. Till next time :)

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first attempt at a Twilight fi. I’ve been wanting to write something involving Rosalie or Emmett for a while now.  
> Comments are always welcome  
> Hope everyone has a wonderful day :)


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